Highlights from Otis College's Fine Arts Program
Fine Arts students, faculty, and alumni earn prestigious opportunities, present new
exhibitions, and expand their impact across contemporary art communities.
Recent graduate Olivier Ganthier with a work from his MFA thesis exhibition. Image courtesy the artist.
The Fine Arts department at Otis College concluded the academic year with significant accomplishments from students, faculty, and alumni across its BFA and MFA programs. From prestigious summer residencies and internship opportunities to exhibitions and professional achievements, the programs continue to support emerging artists while fostering strong connections to the broader art community in Los Angeles and beyond.
A new internship course, taught by Lindsay August-Salazar, was introduced and designed to give BFA and MFA Fine Arts students direct exposure to professional opportunities. The course prepares, guides, and coaches students through a 10-week internship with prominent artists, including Lauren Halsey, Laura Owens, and Amanda Ross-Ho, among others, as well as L.A. nonprofit art spaces and commercial galleries.
Highlights for the Fine Arts program each spring include the Visiting Artist Lecture series, which brings contemporary artists to campus each week throughout the semester, as well as the Mandy and Cliff Einstein Lecture. Visiting Artist speakers included Samara Golden and Spencer Lewis; Kelly Akashi (’06 BFA Fine Arts) returned to campus the deliver the Einstein Lecture to a full crowd just weeks before debuting her new work at the 2026 Whitney Biennial.
Alum Kelly Akashi met with Fine Arts students and presented the Mandy and Cliff Einstein Lecture. Photograph by Sarah Golonka/Otis College of Art and Design
Residencies
Fine Arts rising senior Vishva Bannahake is attending the highly selective Yale Norfolk School of Art this summer. Reflecting on the experience, Bannahake reports that the Yale program has been excellent beyond all expectations. Yale Norfolk accepted only 26 students who follow a curriculum of Yale College art courses, including Critical Studies and Advanced Image Making.
Recent Fine Arts graduates have also earned recognition through highly competitive residency opportunities. Dena Novak (’25 MFA Fine Arts) is attending a summer residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts, an internationally recognized program in Marin County, California.
Cass Everage (’25 BFA Fine Arts), Otis College’s inaugural Charles White Scholarship recipient, has been selected for a summer residency at the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, one of the nation’s most respected programs for emerging artists.
Exhibiting in Los Angeles and Beyond
Recent graduate Jacob Barri (’25 BFA Fine Arts), who works in the Otis Photo Lab, has continued to build a strong curatorial practice. Barri recently curated several exhibitions, including presentations featuring Otis students and alumni at Dotted Line, an art space in Inglewood, creating additional platforms for Otis artists.
Sixty-one artists and collectives will participate in the 59th edition of the Carnegie International, including Miller Robinson (’14 BFA Fine Arts) and faculty member Daid Roy (’13 BFA Fine Arts). Organized every four years, the Carnegie International is the longest-running exhibition of international art in North America.
Joaquín Stacey-Calle (’24 MFA Fine Arts) is showing work in a group exhibition of contemporary Latinx artists titled, Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way, at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum through September 2026. Stacey-Calle’s work was also recently acquired by two museums in Miami: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum and the Museum of Art and Design.
Other recent exhibitions have included Alec Egan’s (’13 MFA Fine Arts) solo exhibition at Vielmetter Los Angeles; Katy Cowan’s (’14 MFA Fine Arts) solo exhibition at Phillip Martin Gallery; Dena Novak’s (’25 MFA Fine Arts) co-curation of an exhibition at Durden and Ray, including the works of Xixi Edelsbrunner (’24 MFA Fine Arts) and Agnes Hong (’25 MFA Fine Arts); and Sojung Kwon’s (’07 MFA Fine Arts) solo exhibition at Ace Tiger Gallery.
Fine Arts faculty continue to maintain active professional practices alongside their teaching. Jacci Den Hartog, faculty and Program Director in Sculpture and New Genres, has a solo exhibition on view at Chris Sharp Gallery in L.A. through July 4. Stan Kaplan, faculty and Program Director of Painting, also has a solo exhibition on view this summer at La Loma Projects through July 2. Together, these exhibitions highlight the continued contributions of Fine Arts faculty to the contemporary art landscape.
Attendees view the BFA Fine Arts galleries at the annual O-Launch Exhibition weekend. Photograph by Sarah Golonka/Otis College of Art and Design.
The accomplishments of graduating students were celebrated this past May through BFA and MFA exhibitions presented as part of the annual O-Launch Exhibition Weekend. Both the online and in-person exhibitions showcased the breadth and diversity of work produced by graduating artists and provided a public platform for students as they transition into the next stage of their creative careers.
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