Five Ways to Engage with the Otis Community
Register to tune into our first-ever virtual fashion show extravaganza, visit Virtual Annual Exhibition, hear our amazing Commencement speaker, and more!
1. Attend Virtually Cool on May 8—and Help Raise Funds for First Generation Otis Students!
For 39 years, the Otis College Fashion Show and Scholarship Benefit has raised critical funds for Otis College students. This year—for the first time—we’re bringing the fashion show to everyone through a special digital event on Saturday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m. PT. Renowned mentors worked with our Fashion Design students through the pandemic and now you can see their exciting take on the future of fashion. This historic viewing will raise scholarship funds for First Generation students—who make up 30% of our student population—so that future artists and designers across all academic departments will have opportunities to learn and grow.
From left: Otis College 2021 Commencement speaker, artist Lauren Halsey, photographed by Czariah Smith; detail of that fuss wuz us, 2018 (white cement, carpet, foam, wood, and mixed media, 110 by 49 by 49 inches) by Lauren Halsey, from David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles.
2. Watch Lauren Halsey Deliver the 2021 Commencement Address on May 15
This year we partnered with a local production company to create and broadcast the 2021 Commencement Ceremony for everyone to watch from the comfort of their living room on Saturday, May 15 starting at 6:00 p.m. PT. Graduating students and their guests will be watching together on Zoom, while other guests, friends, and alumnx can watch via YouTube Live. You don’t want to miss celebrating our 2021 graduates or miss the commencement address by artist Lauren Halsey. While Halsey’s work has been shown and installed at such venues as the Hammer Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, it has been her more recent community work in South L.A. that has been keeping her busy.
3. View Graduating Students’ Work on New Virtual Annual Exhibition Website Starting May 13
In years past, Otis has invited all of Los Angeles to visit the campus over graduation weekend to see the work of graduating students. This year, for the second time, we’re publishing a Virtual Annual Exhibition 2021 website in which you can browse the work and learn more about our graduating students. Newly improved for 2021, the site will allow you to visit each of the departments, see student work, and connect with the students on their respective social media platforms. The site goes live on May 13.
Thunder, Wind, Heaven, Fire (Steel, glass, gas, energy, 8 feet wide) by Xiouping
4. Check Out the MFA Fine Arts Thesis Shows Online
Throughout the spring semester, MFA Fine Arts graduating students have been installing their thesis shows in Bolsky Gallery and then documenting them. Check out the latest additions here.
Otis Extension Virtual Summer Youth Camps
5. Support Your Creative Youth This Summer
Otis College offers three unique youth programs this summer. Our signature Summer of Art program is a four-week intensive designed for students aged 15 or older who wish to strengthen and enhance their skills at one of the top art and design colleges in the country. For youth ages 10 to 14 we offer Summer Youth Camps, week-long adventures in art and design topics like photography, animation, and painting that run from June 14 through August 6. And we also offer focused Weekend Youth Courses in topics ranging from drawing to 2D computer animation that run between six and eight weeks in length. This summer we have you and your budding artist covered! Learn more here.