Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art college in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1914.
Cornish College of the Arts was founded in 1914 as the Cornish School of Music, by Nellie Cornish (1876–1956), a teacher of piano. Cornish would go on to serve as the school's director for its first 25 years, until 1939. The Cornish School of Music began its operations in rented space in the Boothe Building on Broadway and Pine Street.
Cornish College of the Arts operates a three-part campus in the Capitol Hill, Denny Triangle, and Seattle Center areas of Seattle, Washington.
Cornish Commons
A state-of-the-art 20-story residence hall, this residential community is in the vibrant South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, just steps from your classes.
Live, work, and play at Cornish Commons, a state-of-the-art 20-story residence hall. This new residential community is located in the vibrant South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, just steps from your classes, Nellie’s Café, theaters, galleries, parks, restaurants and much more. Designed for you, Cornish Commons features plenty of space and special amenities that allow you to create and perform without ever stepping outside. You can use Cornish Commons as a launching pad to explore all Seattle has to offer.
Make new connections for your future right here. Just walk out the door of your room to engage with fellow artists and performers at Cornish as well as students from nearby City University. By making Cornish Commons your home, you will find the space and the place to create and build lifelong friendships.
Cornish Commons is across the street from Cornish College of the Arts’ Main Campus Center and Nellie’s Café in the heart of downtown Seattle. From the first floor to the 20th, this brand new building provides places for you to do the serious work you have come to do. The ground floor “living room” features a fireplace and meeting spaces, as well as our Welcome Desk, which is staffed 24-hours a day. The first floor is also home to the office of Student Life for Cornish College of the Arts. The floor above features four large theater classroom spaces, an additional lounge and conference space for students and faculty to work on artistic and community activities.
The residence hall occupies the fourth through 19th floors, features a variety of single, double, and triple rooms, all with private bathrooms, and houses a community of 430 students. The 20th floor is reserved just for you and your fellow residents. With amazing views in all directions, you have complete access to a shared full kitchen, open art studio, TV lounge, game room with a fireplace, fitness center, dance studio, laundry facility, and an open-air atrium.
We have created spaces in Cornish Commons that meet the diverse needs of students. Each residential floor includes a community lounge for students to gather and connect. Each room includes a full bath (sink, toilet, shower, tub), as well as all new furnishings, including extra long bed and mattress, dresser, desk, hutch, and filing cabinet. Each room features overhead lighting, individual heating, and security windows opening to fresh air. Standard rooms come with a MicroFridge, a combination mini-fridge and microwave. Kitchenette rooms feature an area with a refrigerator, stove, sink, microwave and cupboards.
Let the 20th floor lounge be the hub of your Cornish Commons experience. With 24 hour, state of the art Laundry and Fitness facilities alongside a community kitchen and art and practice rooms, you’ll soon be feeling right at home. Need a breath of fresh air? Our 20th floor, open-air atrium, is available for residents and their guests year round!
Amenities Include:
Living Room | 24hr Laundry Facilities | 24hr Fitness Center | Community Kitchen | Music Practice Rooms | Art Room | Performance Platform | Fireplace | Community use TVs | Pool Table | Shuffle Board | Vending Machines
Alumni
Actors
Brendan Fraser, who graduated from Cornish in 1990, is one of Cornish's best known graduates.
Jinkx Monsoon, who graduated in 2010, is a drag queen, actor and singer and best known for winning the 5th season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Fine artists
Aleah Chapin, who graduated in 2009, became the first American painter to win the prestigious BP Portrait Award from the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Terry Fox, first generation Conceptual artist and a central participant in the West Coast performance art, video and sound scene of the late 1960s and 1970s.
Heather Hart, graduated in 1998, is best known for her large art installations.
Kumi Yamashita graduated with a B.F.A. in Art 1994.
Musicians
Ann Wilson, musician, member of the band, Heart.
Mary Lambert, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, debuted on Capitol Records with her album Heart on My Sleeve.
Catherine Harris-White, aka SassyBlack, is co-creator of non defunct group Thee Satisfaction, recording artists on Sub Pop Records, graduated from the Music Department in 2008.[citation needed]
Lena Raine, composer and producer, known for her video game soundtracks.
Reggie Watts, musician and comedian, studied music at Cornish in the early 1990s.
Dancers
Merce Cunningham is the best known alumnus in the dance department, matriculated in 1937 and was lured away by Martha Graham and her dance company in 1939.
Dancer and choreographer Robert Joffrey, studied at Cornish at some point, and is listed as a member of the alumni association.
