As of Monday, May 23rd at 5:00 p.m., one hundred twenty-three students became graduates of Laguna College of Art and Design’s (LCAD) class of 2016. President Jonathan Burke with James R. Mellor, chair of the board of trustees conferred undergraduate degrees in Animation, Design and Digital Media, Drawing and Painting, Game Art and Illustration. Peter Zokosky, chair of LCAD’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs in Drawing and Painting, conferred four graduate candidates earning MFA degrees in painting and two post-baccalaureate certificates.

LCAD’s class of 2016 is the largest graduating class in the College’s history. It is also the college’s most diverse student group.

“During rehearsal I asked the graduating seniors if they were first generation or second generation from another country. Thirty-eight of our one hundred eighteen undergraduate senior class told me they or their families were from around the world,” said Hélène Garrison, PhD, dean and vice president of Academic Affairs. “It is telling the wide reach of Laguna College of Art and Design and its influence on art, design and entertainment throughout the world.”

She listed the countries: Armenia Georgia, Brazil, Britain, Chile, China, Cuba, El Salvador, France, Iceland, India, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, Tonga, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Elizabeth Turk, a celebrated sculptor and accomplished photographer and videographer delivered the keynote address. Turk has won several awards and grants, including: a MacArthur Genius Grant, and the Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Fellowship, both in 2010; a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship in 2011; and a Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award for Artistic Achievements from Arts Orange County in 2012.

Turk commended students for their imaginative and eloquent Senior Capstone projects, citing Neal Wojahn’s persistence in earning his Bachelor of Fine in Game Art over the course of 13 years.

“Thinking about this moment for all of you is humbling. The years, the resources you have committed, I wonder what words will do that effort justice,” she said. “All of us who create chase our curiosity, our passion, our crazy ideas, expose our vulnerabilities are undeterred by failure. We turn impossible into possible and this inspires everyone around us. This is success.”

Sigmundur Thorgeirsson, who received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration with an Entertainment Emphasis, was LCAD’s 2016 Student Commencement Speaker. He thanked his family for traveling from Iceland to see him graduate.

“I learned firsthand how hard-working and creative LCAD students really are,” he said. “In my major I took a class in almost every department. In Animation and Game Art, I saw students bring their creations to life. In Fine Arts, I saw paintings that left me breathless, in Illustration, students were creating whole worlds from stories and in liberal arts, I watched students become thinking artists. LCAD is a great school.”

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About Laguna College of Art and Design

Founded in 1961, Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) is one of the top art and design schools in the nation. LCAD offers undergraduate degrees (BFA) in Animation, Design + Digital Media, Fine Arts (Drawing and Painting), Game Art and Illustration, as well as Master of Fine Arts degrees (MFA) in Drawing and Painting and Game Development. LCAD Fine Arts alumni are accepted to the most prestigious graduate programs and go on to become internationally recognized artists and educators who shape dialogue with renowned collectors, museums and gallerists. The Dennis and Leslie Power Library at LCAD houses the historic archives of the college and The Rex and Joan Irving Brandt Papers.

For more information about LCAD admissions, news, events and Annual Fund, visit www.lcad.edu. Facebook at @LCADBFA, Twitter @LCAD and Instagram @lcadbfa.