Cal State San Marcos School of Arts

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Cal State San Marcos School of Arts Art, Media, and Design - Dance Studies - Music - Theatre Arts The curriculum encourages interdisciplinary work, collaboration, and student self-direction.

The School of Arts at Cal State San Marcos provides an exciting multidisciplinary approach to the arts which embraces the cultural richness of southern California. A degree in Visual and Performing Arts consists of a sequence of courses that illuminates and emphasizes the benefits of our cross-cultural heritage, presented in the framework of a dynamic experiential, theoretical and technological environment.

🎨 Faculty Spotlight: Leslie FosterMeet Leslie Foster, an LA-based artist and CSUSM Assistant Professor of Time-based Med...
10/23/2026

🎨 Faculty Spotlight: Leslie Foster

Meet Leslie Foster, an LA-based artist and CSUSM Assistant Professor of Time-based Media whose video art and immersive installations explore Black and q***r futurity through dreamlike environments.

Their work has received recognition from the LACE Lightning Fund and the California Community Foundation. Their exhibitions include Outfest, where Heavenly Brown Body won a Grand Jury Prize.

Their work Spirit Box was featured at OXY ARTS, and Black Cathedral was installed at Human Resources LA.

✨ Explore their work at lesliefoster.art

🎨 SoFA in Practice: Graphic DesignCreativity takes many forms! This semester, students in AMD 380 are exploring visual c...
10/19/2026

🎨 SoFA in Practice: Graphic Design

Creativity takes many forms! This semester, students in AMD 380 are exploring visual communication, typography, and multi-platform design through hands-on projects, experimentation, and collaborative critiques.

Led by Professor Ghazal Foroutan, Iranian designer and Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, students bring ideas to life through design and visual storytelling.

The class’s work was featured in the Peace Poster Exhibition, exploring global perspectives on peace and highlighting how art can connect cultures and inspire change. 🕊️

🎭 Faculty Spotlight: France-Luce BensonMeet France-Luce Benson, award-winning playwright, screenwriter, performer, and A...
10/16/2026

🎭 Faculty Spotlight: France-Luce Benson

Meet France-Luce Benson, award-winning playwright, screenwriter, performer, and Assistant Professor of Theatre at CSUSM!

A proud member of the Writers Guild of America and the Dramatists Guild, Benson’s work has earned numerous honors, including four NAACP Theatre Awards for her play Detained. Before joining CSUSM in 2023, she earned her MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University and worked as a staff writer on Paramount’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Her work continues to reach audiences across the country and internationally, with upcoming productions, readings, and residencies throughout 2026 and 2027.

📅 Upcoming at CSUSM: Join us for a staged reading of Detained on November 4, 2026, at 5 p.m. in Arts 101!

Follow along to discover more about the incredible artists, faculty, and creative work happening at SoFA.

10/15/2026

Last day to check out the gallery for Designing for Peace !!!

In recognition of the United Nations International Day of Peace, explore 40 powerful visions of peace through graphic design—23 posters by our students from CSUSM’s Art, Media & Design program.

Curated by Professor Pouya Jahanshahi of Oklahoma State University and brought to CSUSM through the courtesy of Professor Ghazal Foroutan, this traveling exhibition creates a dialogue between established designers and emerging voices.

Together, these works invite us to imagine peace not simply as an ideal, but as a shared responsibility and an ongoing practice.

📅 September 21
📍 CSUSM
Come check it out!

Pouya Jahan
Ghazal Foroutan غزل

CSUSMAMD ArtMediaDesign DesignForPeace VisualCommunication

✨ Join us tomorrow, for a special guest artist talk with Professor Pouya Jahanshai.🗓 October 15⏰ 4 PM📍 Arts 239Explore “...
10/14/2026

✨ Join us tomorrow, for a special guest artist talk with Professor Pouya Jahanshai.

🗓 October 15
⏰ 4 PM
📍 Arts 239

Explore “Designing for Peace,” an international traveling exhibition examining how graphic design can visualize peace across cultures—featuring 23 powerful posters created by our students! 🌍🕊️ You can see the work in the David Avalos Gallery in Arts 111.

Come get inspired, meet the artist, and celebrate design as a force for peace and justice. We’d love to see you there!
ArtExhibition

🎨 Faculty & Artist Spotlight: Misael G. DiazMeet Associate Professor Misael G. Diaz, a visual artist, researcher, and ed...
10/09/2026

🎨 Faculty & Artist Spotlight: Misael G. Diaz

Meet Associate Professor Misael G. Diaz, a visual artist, researcher, and educator whose interdisciplinary practice explores the cultural, social, economic, and political relationships shaped by borders, particularly in the U.S./Mexico borderlands.

As co-founder and co-director of Cog•nate Collective, a binational collaboration based in the San Diego/Tijuana region, Diaz uses photography, sound, and community-based projects to bring people together and explore identity, migration, and collective resistance. Their work ranges from community radio and collaborative art workshops to installations that challenge unjust immigration policies. In 2022, Cog•nate Collective received the San Diego Art Prize.

His work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Getty Center, Museo Jumex in Mexico City, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

🖼️ Recent & Upcoming Artistic Highlights
From Resisting the Long War to the Mexicali Biennial: Para/normal Borders, Diaz continues to explore how art can connect communities, challenge systems, and create space for new perspectives.

Follow along and explore the work of artists shaping conversations through art, research, and community engagement!

🎶🎭🎨 There’s more than one way to get involved with SoFA!From music performances and creative events to clubs, showcases,...
10/06/2026

🎶🎭🎨 There’s more than one way to get involved with SoFA!

From music performances and creative events to clubs, showcases, and opportunities to connect with fellow students, there’s always a way to get involved in the School of Arts.

Whether you’re performing, creating, attending, or supporting your fellow artists—find your way to be part of the SoFA community.

📅 Check out these opportunities, mark your calendars, and come get involved!

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333 S Twin Oaks Valley Rd
Turlock, CA
92096

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