Each year the School of Art invites a diverse group of nationally and internationally recognized artists, designers, and scholars to share their distinct practices and voices with its students and the community. Students and the public alike can engage with these invited practitioners through lectures, screenings, performances, readings, conversations, studio critiques, and workshops.
This program is one of many valuable resources promoted through the School of Art that contributes to the experiences art students need to begin building relationships within the professional art world and to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of contemporary art and culture.
All events are free, non-ticketed, and open to the public unless otherwise specified.
Upcoming Events
FALL 2026
Tad Carpenter: Sunshine & Storms: Weathering a Creative Life
September 16, 2026 | 6 p.m., AJ 175
Step inside the colorful world of Tad Carpenter—designer, illustrator, and co-founder of the brand design studio Carpenter Collective. In this honest walk through the studio’s creative process, Tad shares how wandering the hallways of Hallmark Cards as a child sparked a lifelong love affair with playful, purposeful design. You'll get an intimate look at how he and Jessica, his wife and creative partner, transform their curiosity into award-winning brand systems that capture hearts and turn heads. Part behind-the-scenes studio tour, part inspiration rally, this session delivers honest insights wrapped in Tad's signature warmth and wit.
William Camargo: Where Images Live: Photography, Place, and the Power of Presence
November 3, 2026 | 6 p.m., AR 217
Photography isn't just something we frame; it can reshape how we experience space, history, and memory. Through public interventions/performances that live in photos, sculptural interventions, and photographic art history, William Camargo uses his photographic practices to mark absence, reclaim narratives, and honor place-based histories. He does this by introducing those who influence his works, just as Laura Aguilar, James Luna, Ken Gonzales-Day and beyond. He also introduces the complexity of the history of photography and connects it back to his practice as a counter-narrative strategy. Camargo is Lecturer in Photography at Pasadena City College and Cal State Fullerton.