CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS

byname CalArts private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Valencia, Calif., U.S. It consists of five schoolsof art, dance, film/video, music, and theatreand a division of critical studies. All schools award bachelor and master of fine arts (B.F.A., M.F.A.) degrees, and the critical studies division awards a B.F.A. Special programs, including world music and video art, cross traditional disciplines. Computer classes are offered, and the Graphic Design Program includes a computer graphics laboratory; the music school features five computer music studios. Theatre students are urged to partake in all aspects of production and presentation of works, from conception to realization. The film/video school is among the leading film schools in the United States. Total enrollment is approximately 1,000. The Los Angeles Conservatory of Music was founded in 1883, and Chouinard Art Institute was founded in 1921. The Walt Disney Corporation was the catalyst in the two schools' merger in 1961 to form the California Institute of Arts. CalArts was conceived as a community of artists; all departments, studios, theatres, workshops, and galleries, with the library and administration offices, are in a single 500,000-square-foot building in the midst of a 60-acre campus. The school's Community Arts Partnership teaches young students in the Watts, East Los Angeles, and Venice areas of Los Angeles. Jazz artist Charlie Haden founded CalArts' jazz program, and actors Ed Harris and Paul Reubens are among the school's noted graduates.