Vision:

Otis prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skill and their vision.
About Us:
Otis College of Art and Design is a non-profit (501(c)3 institution founded in 1918 by General Harrison Gray Otis, the founder and publisher of the Los Angeles Times, who bequeathed his L.A. home to the city for "the advancement of the arts."

The Colllege offers BFA and MFA degrees accreditated by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges  and The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Otis is a member of the Association of Colleges of Art and Design. For almost eighty years, Otis remained at its downtown location. In 1997, the College moved to the Elaine and Bram Goldsmith Campus on the West side. From Spanish-Moorish mansion to seven-story cube, Otis has evolved. Designed by architect Eliot Noyes for IBM, the 115,000 square-foot  Ahmanson Hall was renovated in 1997, using the concept of an artist's loft or a working studio rather than that of a traditional classroom. Ahmanson Hall's open plan encourages communication among the departments, as well as between students and faculty members.

The 40,000 square foot Bronya and Andy Galef Fine Arts Center, designed by Frederick Fisher Architects, opened in 2001. Its complex geometry and corrugated metal forms contrast with the "punchcard" vocabulary of Kathleen Holser Ahmanson Hall. Together, these buildings comprise the Elaine and Bram Goldsmith Campus. Fashion Design occupies one floor of the California Market Center in downtown L.A.; Graduate Studios are in the nearby art community of Culver City, and additional studios for Graduate Public Practice are at the 18th St Arts Center in Santa Monica.

Mission Statement:
Otis prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skill, and their vision.

Otis is L.A.’s first independent professional school of art and design. Since 1918, Otis has trained artists and designers who are in the vanguard of Southern California’s cultural and entrepreneurial life. From Mattel to Pixar to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Otis graduates have made an individual, positive, and lasting mark on the world. In 1918, General Harrison Gray Otis, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, bequeathed his L.A. home for "the advancement of the arts." The five-acre main campus is now on L.A.’s Westside near the beach. Fashion Design is downtown, in the heart of the fashion district. The graduate studios are on the creative corridor in nearby Culver City, and in the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica.