Dear CCA Community,

It is with great sadness that I inform you that Nance O’Banion, artist and CCA Professor Emeritus, passed away this past weekend due to illness.

Nance was a passionate and dedicated educator and a dear part of the CCA community for over 40 years. She taught innovative and evolving programs in the Fine Arts, with a focus on printmaking, textiles, papermaking, and book arts. She led courses within the school’s individualized major and graduate programs that—like her art—reflected a multimedia, interdisciplinary, and often collaborative approach to creativity.

Nance was also fiercely dedicated to giving back to the community at CCA. She served as Printmaking chair, president of the Faculty Senate, and a member of the Curriculum Committee and the Graduate Advisory Committee, in addition to being a mentor to many of us.

Outside of CCA, Nance is internationally renowned for her work, which ranged from intimate, drawn or painted wood tablets to carved doors, unique and limited-edition books, and large sculptures. For more than 30 years she had exhibitions in the United States, Denmark, Japan, Italy, and other locations across the globe. Her work continues to live on in the collections of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Oakland Museum of California, The Museum of Art and Design in New York, Zurich’s Museum Bellerive, and many more.

Most of all, I know that I, and others, will miss Nance’s spirit. She was a true believer in community, and she never missed an opportunity to work with or learn from her peers. She made connections wherever she went, and for that reason alone her absence will be acutely felt amongst all of us.

On behalf of the college, I extend my condolences to Nance’s husband Kerry and daughter Megan, her colleagues, and her friends.

We are also planning an event with Kerry to celebrate Nance’s life and her influence as an artist and educator in early June. We will keep you apprised of the details.  

Sincerely,

President Stephen Beal