The world lost an important critical thinker, activist, and artist when internationally respected Mexican conceptual artist and educator Carla Herrera-Prats (Art MFA 03) passed away in December 2019. Adeptly applying collaborative practice and archival research, Herrera-Prats, 46, explored complex cultural and economic transactions in Mexico, the US, and beyond. Often focusing on institutional dynamics, she…

Donald Marron, a founding trustee of CalArts, passed away on Dec. 6, 2019. At the time he joined the CalArts Board of Trustees in 1971, Marron was president of the investment firm Mitchell, Hutchins, Inc., a premier stock research firm on Wall Street. He was president and chief executive officer of the investment company Paine…

F.X. Feeney (Film/Video BFA 76), the renowned film critic, historian, screenwriter, author, filmmaker, and CalArts alumnus, passed away on Feb. 5, 2020, leaving behind a rich legacy of work in both writing and in film. He was 66. While at CalArts, Feeney studied under the film-maker and founding Film Dean Alexander “Sandy” MacKendrick. To coincide…

CalArts lost a friend and supporter when Trustee Emeritus Joe Smith passed away in December 2019. Smith joined the CalArts Board of Trustees in 1989 and, during his long tenure on the board, served on its Executive, Academic and Campus Affairs, Finance, Investment and Audit, Campaign, and Development committees. His broad industry experience in leading…

Artist and CalArts alum Scott Courtlandt Davis (Art MFA 05) passed away suddenly on Feb. 7, 2020. Born in Keene, NH, the prolific artist earned his BA in Mass Communications and Studio Art from the University of New Hampshire, Durham in 1976, and in 1980 moved to Los Angeles, where he met his partner and…