Exhibition galleries
The seven main gallery spaces available for exhibitions and performances in the School of Art include the Main Gallery, L-shaped Gallery, D300 and D301 Galleries, Mint and Lime Galleries, and A402 Gallery. Additionally, Stevenson Blanche Gallery is a student-run space for School of Art BFA students.
BFA and MFA studios
All students in the School of Art have access to a studio throughout their academic career.
In the programs in Art and Photography and Media, beginning undergraduate students are assigned to shared studio spaces. Each shared studio hosts a small group of the cohort. MFA students and most upper-level undergraduates are assigned individual studios.
The Graphic Design programs have six shared studios, one for each BFA and MFA cohort. They are located in close proximity and near the labs. Upper-level studios have kitchen spaces and open to outdoor courtyards. Common areas are flexible and function as classrooms, critique spaces, and work spaces for large collaborations. Each student has their own desk space for work and study with storage, flat files, and access to Wi-Fi and printers.
MFA Art and Technology students have a shared common studio space. This space functions as a working studio and a social “affinity space” which allows for peer-to-peer communication and collaborative possibilities. Students are assigned a designated area within the common studio for their individual use.
All studios are available to students around the clock, seven days a week during the academic year.
The Ceramics Lab
The Ceramics Lab is an Institute-wide facility open to all students, faculty, and staff. The studio facilitates the fabrication of clay and ceramic sculpture, design, and functional objects. Classes and workshops are offered each semester and a knowledgeable staff of current students are available during the week to assist with hands-on help and skill-sharing.
Three electric Skutt kilns for bisque and mid-range oxidation glaze firings are available, as well as a wide variety of cone 6 glazes made on site in the glaze chemistry lab. We stock a range of Laguna Clay Company sculpture and throwing stoneware clays, which are available for sale to the CalArts community at-cost. The sculpture studio has a slab roller, extruder, clay recycling pug-mill, steel frame work tables for constructing large scale work, a dedicated clay sink, and an assortment of carts for building and transporting work in progress. The new indoor pottery studio supports nine Brent Model C throwing wheels, steel-frame wedging table, therapeutic lighting and color palette, climate control, air purification, wall-to-wall built-in shelving, and dedicated clay sink, as well as a tea station and mini-library.
The Ceramics Lab supports experimental and traditional clay and ceramic techniques including luster firings, advanced glaze chemistry, decals, mold making, and slip casting.
MacLab
The MacLab facilitates the creation of digital and print-based work, motion graphics, and web design. The lab extends studio space and supports student use and the curriculum with a variety of software, enabling editorial design, drawing, painting, photo manipulation, page layout, type design, UI/UX, 3-D rendering, motion graphics, and web design.
The lab features Mac computers on custom-designed tables, fabricated using a VOC-free surface composed of post-consumer recycled paper and non-petroleum resin. The teaching station is equipped to display large video and sound projection for classes and visiting guests. Additionally, the lab offers a small meeting space, TVs for displaying work, wireless internet connections, laser printing, and scanning. The MacLab includes a secure glass enclosure with LED lighting to display posters from the graphic design archive and individual poster shows.
Student lab techs are accessible for confirming art school access, refreshing lab supplies, troubleshooting, and answering questions about the hardware and software. Users are responsible for their own document storage and backup. Priority is given to the curriculum and labs are intended for the production and printing of original work, created for class and individual projects.
Two adjunct labs support the MacLab and curriculum, managed and operated by student techs in training. For hours of operation, see posted schedules at each facility.
- A107-c Wide Format - Offers fee-based, large format color inkjet output with 44” and 24” printers on assorted media by trained techs. The WideFormat is open to everyone in the institute.
- A107-f ColorLab - Provides color laser printing. Open to Graphic Design BFA students.
Photo Lab
The Photo Lab provides equipment and facilities for both traditional and digital processes, and is designed to serve the curriculum of the Photography and Media Program.
The analog printing facilities include two analog film processing rooms, two large black and white analog printing bays, nine analog color printing checkout rooms, a 52” color (type ra-4) print processor, and the Mural Room, which houses an 8” x 10” horizontal closed loop color enlarger. The Photo Cage additionally manages a classroom, lighting studio, and copy room.
The digital imaging instructional and production areas of the Photo Lab are specifically designed as visually neutral environments with specialized lighting to provide for optimum viewing and evaluating of color. There are 10 student production workstations, which provide scanning, post-process editing, and output capabilities. The digital production areas are available during the academic year upon completion of mandatory orientations and any applicable technical tutorials.
The Photo Cage provides equipment for daily checkout for all imaging processes. The Cage houses analog cameras (35mm, 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9, 6x12, 4x5, 8x10 and 11x14) and Canon DSLRs. The Cage also provides darkroom equipment, lighting equipment, camera accessories, and additional imaging equipment.
Print and Media Lab
The Print and Media Lab has various production methods available, including: screen printing (including t-shirt presses), intaglio, lithography, letterpress, and bookbinding. The darkroom area has multiple exposure systems for producing plates and screens. Students who have attended a primary orientation (in fall semester) and have paid a security deposit may use resources in the lab; these include squeegees, scoopcoaters, brayers, rollers, and other items. Checked-out equipment is lent on a 24-hour maximum basis.
The Lab also includes a Digital Lab consisting of four workstations, a scanner, and basic small-scale output for producing film for exposure, as well as pre-production support for media projects.
The Cage supplies paper, inks, plates, and screen emulsion. Transaction and recharge protocols are identical to Output Services (see below).
Riso Services is also available by appointment. Students should to speak to staff about a riso project. Available are 10 different color drums with a combination of different weighted paper in tabloid and letter sizes.
Output Services provides 44” inkjet printing on Lab-supplied (i.e. no outside materials) photo media and clear film, laser cutting (maximum size 16” x 12”, see operators for material restrictions) 3D resin printing and vinyl cutting. Proper file set up is absolutely necessary; requirements for files (as well as pricing) may be reviewed at Canvas. Additionally, a consultation with Output Services operators is highly recommended.
Output Services, Riso Services, and the Cage are fee-based, student-run areas that are open limited hours (subject to change each semester). Current schedule is posted in front of the labs’ double doors.
Super Shop
The Super Shop is an Institute-wide resource that provides facilities and technical instruction for making three-dimensional artwork. It is a sculpture driven workspace with full woodworking, metal fabrication, sewing, as well as sand-blasting and spraying options. The Tool Cage offers a lending library of basic hand tools and power tools that are available for check out.
The Super Shop is also home to a Laguna Swift CNC, for which appointments with the operators can be easily scheduled for file vetting and output services.
Video Lab
The Video Lab is a School of Art resource that provides facilities, equipment, and technical instruction for making and exhibiting time-based artwork. It is a video-focused workspace with a wide selection of video and audio acquisition and exhibition tools available for check-out through the Video Cage. The Lab also includes three post-production studio spaces including an isolated sound recording studio with 12 channel mixing board, professional digital audio recording, editing and effects software, a multi-workstation video editing and instruction suite, as well as a private video editing studio with viewing lounge.
