Otis College's O-Launch Exhibition Weekend on May 9–11, 2025 Celebrates the Next Generation of Artists and Designers

An industry night with employers, alumni reception, campus-wide exhibition, fashion show, and open studios will showcase and celebrate Otis College students and graduates.

Otis College of Art and Design presents its annual O-Launch weekend on May 9–11, 2025. Main events include the Industry Preview for employers, a campus-wide Annual Exhibition, the Junior and Senior class Fashion Show, and an Alumni Reception. The weekend will culminate with the 2025 Commencement ceremony. Learn more at otis.edu/olaunch. 

“Los Angeles is a thriving hub of creativity and Otis College is at its heart. O-Launch Exhibition Weekend celebrates a new generation of artists and designers as they prepare to make an impact on the creative economy,” says Otis College President Charles Hirschhorn.  

The Industry Preview on Friday, May 9 invites employers, alumni, gallerists, and curators to explore the innovative work of graduating students. It will be followed with an employer-student reception for connection and networking, featuring opening remarks by President Hirschhorn and Provost Colette Veasey-Cullors.

The annual exhibition on Otis College’s Los Angeles campus is free and open to the public on Saturday, May 10 from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Celebrate creativity and community at the O-Launch Community Exhibition. Students, families, and friends of Otis College can explore graduating student work showcasing the College’s BFA and MFA programs while enjoying a live DJ, food trucks, and our annual ceramics and book sales. Graduating students from Otis’s nine BFA programs—Animation, Environmental Design, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Game and Entertainment Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Product Design, and Toy Design—will be on hand to discuss their work, which will be displayed in galleries, showrooms, interactive displays, and digital presentations. In addition, MFA Fine Arts and MFA Graphic Design students will host open studios, offering an intimate view of their workspaces and creative output.

From 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Otis alumni are invited to reconnect with peers, enjoy refreshments, and celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Class of 2025 at the second annual Alumni Reception. All Otis alumni, including Otis Korea alumni, are welcome. (This is an invite only event.) 

Saturday night culminates in the Fashion Design program’s annual runway show, which starts at 8:00 p.m. and will showcase inspired collections from Otis College’s Junior and Senior students and their mentor projects with AGOLDE, Cupshe, and Jonathan Cohen, to name a few.

On Sunday, families, friends, faculty, and staff will honor the Class of 2025 at Otis College’s Commencement ceremony at the El Camino College campus. They will hear a commencement address from Ann Philbin, who will also receive an honorary degree from the College. Philbin recently retired as the director of the UCLA Hammer Museum and is currently a board member of LA28—the Los Angeles organizing committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028—and the Foundation for Arts Initiatives. Philbin was the director of the Hammer from 1999 to 2024, responsible for quadrupling attendance, expanding collections to more than 50,000 objects, and overseeing a substantial renovation of the museum’s building, which was completed in 2023, adding 40,000 square feet of gallery, administrative, and public space. Under her tenure the museum launched Hammer Projects, a series of more than 100 exhibitions and installations featuring local, national, and international emerging artists. She also spearheaded the Made in L.A. biennial exhibition, which has become part of the city’s cultural firmament and offers a broader view of the region’s art and design contributions. According to The New York Times, “Under Philbin, the Hammer…embraced contemporary art and became an important platform for emerging and underappreciated artists with an emphasis on social justice.” 

The 2025 Commencement event also will be livestreamed on the Otis Commencement webpage for those who would like to tune in but are unable to join in person. 

Visit the O-Launch event page for more information, RSVP details, and a full schedule.

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