Kali Nikitas (born 1964) is an American academic administrator, curator, graphic designer, and educator. She chairs the graphic design and illustration (BFA) and MFA graphic design departments at

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

in Los Angeles.

Biography

Kali Nikitas was born in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She received an MFA degree from

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

(CalArts) in graphic design; and a BFA in graphic design from the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

. She has an unconventional practice by wearing many hats. She is an academic administrator and trained graphic designer. She is a curator of events and a connector of talent to opportunity. She has worked with cities to enrich the lives of their citizens through art and design. Nikitas chairs the graphic design and illustration (BFA) and MFA graphic design departments at

in Los Angeles. Before Otis, she taught and or has been in administration at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

Minneapolis College of Art and Design The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is a private college specializing in the visual arts and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MCAD currently enrolls approximately 800 students. MCAD is one of just a few major art schools to offer ...

and The

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

. She partners with Stephan Jones Studio on exhibition, pop-up events and independently curates unique events that center around culture, design and sometimes food. Kali sits on the Alumni Council for CalArts and the Inglewood Open Studio Board. In the years when she was most active in her design practice, Kali curated international design exhibitions: "And She Told 2Friends: An International Exhibition of Graphic Design by Women" and "Soul Design" and facilitated Typo Berlin and Typo San Francisco, and she has hosted workshops and special events in the States and abroad. The work generated in her then studio, Graphic Design for Love (+$) was recognized in numerous publications and competitions such as: ''Emigre'', ''Eye'', ''I.D.'' and the ''AIGA Journal'' American Center for Design, AIGA and the Type Directors Club.

Personal

Nikitas is married to artist Richard M. Shelton, director of the Creative Action Program at

. They live in a home in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

built by Rudolph Schindler.

References

External links

Official website
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AIGA websiteQ&A: Sean Adams Interviews Kali Nikitas, ''Step Inside Design Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikitas, Kali American graphic designers University of Illinois Chicago alumni 1964 births Living people California Institute of the Arts alumni Otis College of Art and Design faculty