Chouinard Art Institute, 741 S. Grand View, Los Angeles, circa 1930 | Photos: 1929-30 and 1930-31 Catalogs
Animation students working at a light table. Photo: 1938/39 Catalog
More about the conversation from REDCAT:
Joining the discussion are Chouinard alumnae Alice Estes Davis, a renowned costume designer noted for her exceptional work with Walt Disney, and Gianina Ferreyra, a filmmaker currently creating a documentary about Chouinard’s founder and her influential art school. In conversation with invited guests, Estes Davis and Ferreyra share perspectives on Chouinard, and its significant impact on the arts in Los Angeles. Illuminating selections from Gianina’s documentary-in-progress are screened as part of the evening.
Nelbert Chouinard
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Chouinard Art Institute was known for its open environment and for progressive instructors such as Richards Ruben, Emerson Woelffer and Robert Irwin. Besides training aspiring animators, Chouinard attracted many talented artists as students and faculty. Students included Joe Goode, Ed Ruscha and Judy Winans, who helped produce the design journal Orb (1959–60) while attending the school.
In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to establish California Institute of the Arts with the assistance and counseling of Lulu May Von Hagen, then chairman of the Conservatory. A decade later, the school moved to its current campus in Valencia, California.
To see more Chouinard Art Institute images and a list of alumni, visit the Institute’s history page.
Chouinard: An Overture
REDCAT
Tonight, Feb. 8, 8:30 pm
Tickets: General $10, Students $5, CalArts Community free