To try and nail down just one exhibition to highlight in the Ringling College Galleries amongst a season that spans the entire academic year is no easy task. There isn’t just one exhibition that stands as the model for the rest—from the sketch pads and thesis projects of Ringling College students to the best of their faculty and alumni artists to high-profile artists outside of the institution, it’s a season lineup that is as varied as it is dense. “Every year we have 30-35 exhibitions, each with their own programming and events. In addition, we also feature a really popular art walk three times a year. I’m personally excited that we’re fully welcoming everybody back now that we’re mostly out of the pandemic,” says Tim Jaeger, Director and Chief Curator of Galleries and Exhibitions at the Ringling College of Art and Design. While all seven on-campus galleries are free to visit and have a different intention, the Basch gallery will be featuring a particularly unique exhibition this fall: Head to Toe. “The exhibition will feature a collection of New York City fashion influencer Marie Colbert’s different fashion materials when she was a mover and shaker in the New York arts scene in 1970s, 80s, & 90s, says Jaeger. “There’s lots of material to work with from videos to marketing material, paints, sketches, drawings, fabrics and things of that nature,” he adds. The show, which opens on November 7th, marks the first annual Halloween Fashion Runway Extravaganza—an inaugural event that will be held every year to highlight not only the work of fashion designers, but of students as well. It continues the Galleries’ tradition of bringing in high-profile artists to work with the students in conjunction with their curriculum.“ We’re basically turning the gallery into a Prada showroom—working with both her collection and designs of the students,” says Jaeger.

Ringling College Galleries. Credits: FacultyExhibition, MatteoCaloiaro, Ringling College Galleries.