CalArts Podcasts

This is the second episode in a series of conversations we’re having with the deans at CalArts.  Henderson sits down with Ranu Mukherjee, the dean of CalArts’ largest School Film/Video, who was appointed dean in August 2024. View the slideshow used during the discussion . Our Season 3 theme music was created and performed by 2018 graduate, Nicolas Savignano. You can learn more about Nico by visiti...

This is the first episode in a series of conversations we’re having with the deans at CalArts.  Henderson sits down with Steven Lam, who has been dean of the School of Art and the Kraus Family Endowed Chair in Art since 2022. Recorded in October 2024, this conversation delves into Steven’s approach to leadership, his perspective on art education, and his vision for the School of Art at CalArts. Le...

50+50: A Creative Century from Chouinard to CalArts is an alumni and artist-led scholarship endowment initiative launched in 2020, as the Institute prepared to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. In this episode, we explore this unprecedented project with Associate Dean of the School of Art, Michael Ned Holte , and artist, Andrea Bowers (Art MFA 92). The Beyond the Blue Wall theme music (the intro...

Tori Danner (Theater MFA 19) was born in Benin City, Nigeria and raised in Kuwait. She received a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Media from the American University of Kuwait. Her dream from an early age, however, was to become an actress, so she decided to pursue an MFA in Acting at CalArts. Shortly after graduating, Tori booked a recurring role on the hit CBS comedy ser...

Kataneh Vahdani (BFA Character Animation 05; MFA Experimental Animation 08) grew up in Iran. She is a director, animation creator, story artist, and educator, and came to the US with her mother and brother when she was a teenager, beginning her journey at CalArts when she was just 16 years old. You can learn more about Kataneh on her website . Please note this episode contains a discussion about s...

Launched in 1978, The World Music Festival has its roots in CalArts’ World Music program in the Herb Alpert School of Music. As we prepare for the The 2024 World Music Festival in April, we are joined by the co-directors of the World Music Program specialization, Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole and Andrew Grueschow , who talk about the history of the World Music Festival, how it has evolved, and what we can ex...

Jinal Sangoi (Art MFA 18) is an artist and educator, currently living in Mumbai, who weaves art, design, pedagogy, and community through her participatory and collaborative practice, designing creative methodologies for experiential learning with a particular interest in the ideas of care, home, nature, gender, and resistance.  While at CalArts, Jinal was the recipient of the Tim Disney Prize for...

Esteban Ramón Pérez (Art BFA 17) taps into his experience as a professional upholsterer, often working with leather to produce works that intertwine the cultural and artistic sensibilities of his Chicano heritage with issues he identifies as rooted in postcolonial history. Esteban’s work embodies facets of art histories, popular icons, subjectivity, spirituality, and social issues. Esteban’s work...

A lot that goes into creating a world class institution like CalArts, and your support of our mission helps to make that happen. In this bonus episode, Henderson explains the various ways that your gift to CalArts greatest need helps our students. Thanks for being a part of our community of artists! The Beyond the Blue Wall Season 3 theme music (the intro“Lima” and the outro “Salta”) was created a...

In this episode, we’re joined by REDCAT’s Chief Curator, Daniela Lieja Quintanar and Assistant curator, Talia Heiman to talk about their new exhibition celebrating and honoring the groundbreaking effort of the Feminist Art Program pioneered by Judy Chicago in 1970. The Feminist Art Program (1970–1975): Cycles of Collectivity , which is on view through February 18, 2024 at REDCAT, CalArts’ downtown...

Trustee Emeritus, Austin Beutner, served as chair of CalArts Board of Trustees from 2006- 2014. He is a fierce supporter of arts education, including CalArts’ own Community Arts Partnership (CAP) program, as well as the landmark 2022 California ballot initiative, Proposition 28, which creates a guaranteed annual funding stream for music and arts education that equals 1% of the state’s general fund...

CalArts’ annual Halloween party occupies a unique place in the hearts of most CalArtians. In this episode, we talk with past and current producers of Halloween to give you a unique look at what it takes to put on this remarkable event. We trace how the Institute has turned this epic rager into an extraordinary learning experience for students. Visit the CalArts Halloween website . Beyond the Blue...

Host Henderson Blumer is joined by the Director of the Patty Disney Center for Life and Work (PDCLW), Jen Hitchings, and the Assistant Director for Career Connections & Development, Lonnie Woods III. Jen and Lonnie discuss the programs and services offered by the PDCLW as well as what it means to be a working artist. To learn more about the Patty Disney Center for Life and work, and the career...

Bijan Berahimi (Art BFA 13) is a Graphic Design graduate and founder of Fisk , a design firm based in Portland, OR. Fisk has worked with CalArts on the Strategic Framework website and the 50th anniversary website and logo. They also assisted with the design for the 2022 gala and other projects, including the REDCAT website. Want more? Check out this profile from the Portland Monthly   Check out th...

To learn more about Emara Neymour-Jackson (Dance BFA 20) and her practice, as well as to view some of her work, visit emaraneymourj.com Check out this 2020 profile of Emara in VoyageLA Learn more about the CalArts School of Dance Beyond the Blue Wall’s Season 2 original theme music was composed and performed by Socks Whitmore (Music BFA 20). Learn more about their work at sockswhitmore.com .  Beyo...

Chad Hamill/ čnaq'ymi (Music BFA 93; MFA 97 ) is the Executive Director for Indigenous Arts and Expression and Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs at CalArts. During the 2021-22 academic year, Chad was named the inaugural CalArts Presidential IDEA Fellow. Chad led the effort to establish a partnership between CalArts and the Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA) . He has...

The REEF Residency is a collaboration between the School of Critical Studies, School of Film/Video, and School of Art.  Learn more about the REEF Residency .  In this episode, we speak with 2022 REEF Residents, Fía Benitez and Simone Zapata. Their exhibition, Tense Renderings: the will and won’t of spatial logics , opened at The REEF Los Angeles, June 24–July 24, 2022. Tense Renderings interrogate...

On Saturday, June 5, 2021, a cooling tower on the fifth floor of CalArts’ A-block overflowed, flooding several locations  below and causing much damage to the Character and Experimental Animation areas. This is the story of that flood, as well as the resurrection of this critically important space on the CalArts’ campus. To follow the progress of construction in A-block, visit this page on the Sch...

Ochion Jewell (Music MFA 07) is a jazz saxophonist and composer from Appalachian Kentucky. He studied classical music as an undergraduate at the University of Louisville and studied jazz, free improvisation, and composition at CalArts. Ochion's debut album " First Suite for Quartet '' was released by Mythology Records in 2010 to positive acclaim. The album was heralded by the N...

As The New York Times noted in a 2021 profile , “for a quarter-century, through the ever-changing social and cultural climate, [Andrea] Bowers has forged lasting bonds with queer and trans folk, fighters for abortion rights, radical environmentalists, immigration advocates, Native activists and scholars across generations.” In its 2022 retrospective of Bower’s work , the Hammer Museum said that sh...

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) is the Oscar-nominated animated sci-fi comedy directed by Mike Rianda (Film/Video 10) and co-directed by Jeff Rowe (Film/Video BFA 11). The two also wrote the script, which follows Katie Mitchell and her quirky family as their road trip to drop her off at film school is unexpectedly interrupted by a robot apocalypse. Rianda and Rowe were the guests of honor at...

In late March, podcast network CurtCo Media launched Solar , a 12-episode, immersive sci-fi drama created by CalArts alums Chris Porter (Music MFA 09) and directed by Porter and Jenny Curtis (Theater BFA 12).  The audio drama follows crew members on the ill-fated solar research probe Aethon, who are disconnected from earth and trapped on separate parts of their spacecraft. As they face a literal a...

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Wall, Henderson Blumer talks with David O (Theater BFA 92) about their time at CalArts, life as a music director, and what it is like working on a Broadway production. David O is the music director for Mr. Saturday Night , a musical comedy starring Billy Crystal. It is currently playing at the Nederlander Theatre in New York. Beyond the Blue Wall is a production...

Director of the Jazz Program, David Roitstein, joins two of his former students: Scott Colley (Music BFA 88) and John Schwerbel (Music BFA 14) to talk about the extraordinary legacy of Charlie Haden at CalArts and beyond, including the annual Charlie Haden/CalArts Artist in Residence program. Learn more about Charlie Haden at charliehadenmusic.com Learn more about David Roitstein at davidroitstein...

Socks Whitmore (Music BFA 20) talks about the ins and outs of starting your career as a freelance artists. Socks (they/them/theirs) is a Los Angeles-based singer, stage and voice actor, lyricist-composer, and writer. They have done voice over work on projects like the Narwhal & Jelly audiobook series (Penguin Random House) and the fiction podcast "Georgie Romero Is Done For." Socks h...