The CalArts Way

Long nights in an art studio, fueled by caffeine and kombucha. A dance performance in a moving elevator. A lone trumpeter practicing the same phrase again … and again … in the middle of the soccer field. A durational performance art piece in a giant-sized egg. A heated discussion about the meaning of a scene between actors and directors. Designs pinned to a wall for critique by your faculty and peers (with Tums at the ready).

This is how our approach to pedagogy—the science and art of teaching—manifests itself at CalArts. 

While the foundation of a CalArts education is rooted in individualized and rigorous artmaking, critical thinking, and faculty mentorship, there’s a little magic that happens in our multidisciplinary environment that sets us apart from our peers.  

Call it the special sauce or pixie dust, CalArts is rife with opportunities for artists to seek out collaborators—to experiment and test old theories or create new ones. 

In fact, our co-founder Walt Disney’s vision for CalArts was a revelation in the 1960s: Unite different types of artists in one community, and they’ll enlighten one another, spark creative energy, and innovate. More than a half-century on, we’ve proven that discovery woven through disciplines isn’t theoretical here—it’s embedded in the everyday.  

In addition to the rigorous classroom and studio training at CalArts, you’ll find that our entire student experience is centered by values of inclusivity, belonging, respect, dignity, and essential equity-mindedness. We strive to help guide and develop well-rounded artists and citizens of the world by expanding access to our education, which incorporates decolonized global learning and engagement with culturally responsive and anti-racist teaching and curriculum. While we teach our artists on how to further their own practices, we simultaneously prioritize how we prepare students for rewarding careers post-CalArts. 

CalArtians already live and think outside the lines. But through the mix of our pedagogy and pixie dust, by commencement, they emerge as emboldened artists ready to change the world through their creativity and critical thinking.