CalArts

When singer, songwriter, actor, and filmmaker Hayley Kiyoko expanded her hit 2015 music video Girls Like Girls into the recently released feature film of the same name, she enlisted CalArts alum Lindsey Moran (Theater BFA 03) as production designer to help bring the coming-of-age romance to life. In a recent interview with the film’s distributor Focus Features, Moran reflected on the creative process behind shaping the visual world of Girls Like Girls.

Tracey Laguerre’s (Film/Video BFA 17) CalArts student project has found a new home at Cartoon Network. I Love You, Jocelyn, Laguerre’s animated short, is featured in the network’s revived Cartoon Cartoons program. The seven-minute pilot follows a magical girl in a world shaped by Caribbean folklore, drawing from the oral storytelling traditions Laguerre grew up with. Its visual style also takes inspiration from Haitian culture and Afro-Latino art traditions.

Daredevil Arts Festival returns for its second year to Venice, California, presenting nearly 50 shows from July 11 to 19 between the Electric Lodge and Pacific Resident Theatre. The multidisciplinary arts festival, which showcases the diverse and boundary-pushing artists of Venice Beach and its environs, features several CalArtians within the lineup. Media artist Carole Kim (Film/Video-IM MFA 03) presents SQRM, an installation piece that melds technology and live performance.

Nominations for the 78th Emmy Awards were announced today by the Television Academy in North Hollywood. CalArts alumni earned recognition across a range of categories, including production design, lighting design, and picture editing.

Earlier this year, CalArts alumni Vincent Enrique Hernandez (Art BFA 21) and Francesca Lally (Art BFA 19) were announced as recipients of the 2026 AAF/Seebacher Fine Arts Prize. Awarded annually by the American Austrian Foundation (AAF), the prize goes to fine arts graduate students or recent graduates from American universities.

When the latest episode of Apple TV’s psychological thriller Cape Fear premieres this Friday, CalArtians will see a familiar name in the credits. CalArts Creative Writing faculty member Brian Evenson wrote the episode and served as executive story editor on the 10-episode limited series created by Nick Antosca. Inspired by both The Executioners by John D. MacDonald and the 1991 film directed by Martin Scorsese, Cape Fear stars Amy Adams, Javier Bardem, Patrick Wilson, Lily Collias, and Joe Anders.

In late May, Los Angeles-based filmmaker and CalArts Film Directing program director Lee Anne Schmitt was honored at the 23rd annual Documenta Madrid, the city of Madrid’s international documentary film festival. Receiving 1,650 submissions from nearly 20 countries, the festival awarded films in both national and international categories.

Iris Company, founded by Sophia Stoller (Dance MFA 15), presents The Still Point, an immersive dance-theater experience at SOMArts Bay Gallery in San Francisco. Performances run July 16–19 and 24–25. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the Bardo—the threshold state between death and rebirth—and T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, The Still Point explores themes of isolation, memory, and reintegration.

As the U.S. prepares to mark its 250th birthday this summer, ARTnews has decided to celebrate the occasion by compiling a list of “The 100 Best Artworks About America” (and not the best artworks by Americans). “What, exactly, defines America? It’s a question that’s been asked for more than two centuries, and it’s one not likely to be conclusively answered anytime soon.

Celebrating MoMA PS1’s 50th anniversary year, Greater New York 2026 marks the sixth edition of the museum’s survey of artists living and working in New York. The exhibition spans the entirety of MoMA PS1’s building and features more than 150 works by more than 50 artists, including two CalArtians: Rachel Handlin (Art BFA 20) and Kite (Music BFA 14).