Now in its third iteration, GENESIS is a student-led fashion show and cross-disciplinary collaboration that draws from virtually every major on campus. This year’s show, Woven in Time, followed a soul’s journey through three acts: Birth, Battle, and The Unknown, guided by the mythological Fates. The theme shaped everything from the garments on the runway to the motion graphics pulsing behind them to the dress code for guests.

“I was drawn to the contrast between love and hate, the softness and the hardness of those images, and how that reflects the battles humans face today鈥攑ersonally and on a global scale,” said Lindelwa Ntshakala 鈥�28, Visual Studies, and this year’s GENESIS President and Creative Director.

“Bringing the Fates into the story introduced an existential crisis, because it links to the idea that we’re all born into something we didn’t choose.”

Twenty-one designers presented 30 original garments, each the result of months of experimentation, sewing, fittings, refinement, and more sewing. 

Outside the venue, guests were welcomed with a photo booth, live caricature artists, and GENESIS-branded swag before making their way inside to a show that opened with booming narration guiding the audience into the world of the Fates.

The production was entirely student-built. Motion design students created the visuals projected across the LED wall. Set design, sound, hair and makeup, photography, and film documentation were each led by a dedicated student department head. Lily Bean ’26, Visual Studies, Head of Designers, described their role as part creative collaborator, part coordinator, working with each designer to tailor their looks to the theme while managing fittings and keeping communication flowing between teams.

“It’s really cool to see all the looks and talk to everybody during the process,” Bean said.

This year also saw a new layer of support added to the production. Matt Myers, who teaches costume construction in Entertainment Design, led a workshop for GENESIS designers, not on design itself, but on the practical challenge of getting from sketch to garment. “There’s a lot of creativity not just in the design, but in the fabrication,” Myers noted. “And those are actually two very different jobs professionally.” For students working without a fashion major to draw from, that kind of hands-on guidance made a real difference.

Central to that process was a new resource that didn’t exist in previous years: a sewing lab in Hammond Studios. For GENESIS designers, the space became a second home鈥攁 place to work through construction challenges, test materials, and turn their sketches into reality. Myers had been working toward something like this for years, advocating for a dedicated fabrication space on campus long before one existed. The opening of Hammond Studios made it possible. “The building opening opened a door to having this space,” he said. 

GENESIS grew out of an earlier student fashion show called Fresco and has expanded year over year in scale, production value, and campus reach. This year’s leadership team logged close to a year and a half of planning by the time of the event. 

GENESIS 2026 鈥� Core Team
Lindelwa Ntshakala 鈥� President & Creative Director
Timo Kisyeri 鈥� Vice President & Brand Executive
Amanda Godines 鈥� Vice President & Project Manager
Mobtagha Bejaoui 鈥� Co-Creative Director
Samantha Balikowa 鈥� Outreach Coordinator
Tia Kassim 鈥� Lead Set Designer
Lily Bean 鈥� Head of Designers
Abigail Atwell 鈥� Head of Motion Design
Martina Belanche Castillo 鈥� Head of Graphic Design
Allegra Bortoni 鈥� Head of Film
Savannah Carroll 鈥� Head of Photography
Meline Dupont 鈥� Head of Hair & Makeup
Lyra Kolesar 鈥� Head of Models
Jetta Gerdts 鈥� Head of Models
Zeta Bengoechea 鈥� Campaign Strategist

For those who were there, the result spoke for itself: a runway show that felt less like a student event and more like a fully realized production, the kind that leaves you wondering what they’ll do next year.

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At first glance, the gallery feels soft, almost sweet. Walls washed in pastel pink and powder blue hold what appear to be abstract landscapes: rolling curves, gentle shadows, fields of color. Some visitors pause. Others hesitate. A few turn around and walk out.

Then comes the realization.

They are not landscapes at all鈥攖hey are bodies.

Currently on view at Sarasota Art Museum, Selina Rom谩n: Abstract Corpulence transforms tightly cropped photographs of the artist鈥檚 own body into large-scale abstract compositions. Through careful framing and pastel bodysuits, 红杏视频 Fine Arts faculty member Selina Rom谩n turns stomachs, thighs, hips, and backs into studies of line, shape, and color. The result is both intimate and disorienting; a quiet challenge to traditional notions of beauty and femininity.

But perhaps the most fascinating part of the exhibition is not what hangs on the walls鈥攊t鈥檚 how differently people see it. Sandra Lefever, a staff member at the Museum, has observed audiences navigating the space over the past six months. She noted that older and younger women often spend the most time with the work, studying it closely. Others, she observed, step inside briefly before deciding it may not be for them.

One piece in particular became her favorite after hours of looking. At first, she wasn鈥檛 sure what she was seeing. Eventually, she recognized it: 鈥淚t鈥檚 her back,鈥� Lefever explained, pointing out the mirrored spine within the composition. That moment of recognition changed everything. 鈥淭he whole thing reminds me of an iceberg,鈥� she added, suggesting that what viewers first see is only a fraction of the meaning beneath the surface.

Even now, she says, visitors frequently misidentify the body parts. One canvas in the lower right remains 鈥減retty ambiguous鈥� it could be anything.鈥�

The exhibition takes on yet another life through younger viewers. Lefever recalled guiding a group of third graders through the gallery. Many of them interpreted the works as landscapes, drawn especially to the pastel tones they described as 鈥渋ce cream鈥� colors. Their reactions reveal something essential about abstraction: meaning shifts depending on who is looking.

Organized by Sarasota Art Museum of 红杏视频, and curated by Rangsook Yoon, senior curator at Sarasota Art Museum, Abstract Corpulence turns the gallery into a space of subtle resistance. By magnifying the body until it becomes unrecognizable, Rom谩n invites viewers to reconsider scale, perception, and the politics of size.

As the exhibition approaches its closing in March, one question lingers in the quiet, color-washed room: Is this exhibition about the body or about the way we choose to see it?

Perhaps it is less about identifying what part of the body we are looking at and more about recognizing how our own experiences shape what we see. In the end, the work does not demand a single interpretation. It asks only that we stay long enough to look and to look again.

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Avant was contacted by Kyle Geon, producer for jazz vocalist Samara Joy, who asked whether he would be interested in creating the album cover for her upcoming release. Initially skeptical, Avant soon realized the opportunity was legitimate after a Zoom meeting with Joy and representatives from Universal Records.

鈥淚 remember being taken aback by how young and soft-spoken Samara was,鈥� Avant said. 鈥淢y first thought was that I felt like I was talking to one of my students.鈥� At the time, Joy was just 24 years old and already had multiple Grammy Awards under her belt.

Curious about how his work had come to her attention, Avant asked Joy how she became familiar with his art. She explained that she discovered his work on and was deeply moved by his series depicting African American women in a positive light. Joy was particularly drawn to Avant鈥檚 use of oil paint, feeling that the traditional medium naturally aligned with jazz, a genre rooted in history and currently experiencing a resurgence.

While excited about the opportunity, Avant faced a tight timeline. He had approximately 10 days to plan and complete the album cover. His usual process involves an in-person photo shoot with the client, but due to scheduling constraints and geographic distance, that was not possible. Instead, Universal Records provided reference images for him to use as a starting point.

The project unfolded from there through a series of Zoom meetings. In an early session, Avant shared a charcoal drawing rendered with a painterly approach, along with several color ideas to establish the overall mood. No final direction was selected at that stage. During a subsequent meeting, Avant presented several digital color studies designed to replicate the look and feel of an oil painting. Joy immediately connected with two of the options but found it difficult to choose between them. Ultimately, she placed her trust in Avant to make the final decision.

鈥淭here was no art director involved鈥攊t was just Samara and me going back and forth,鈥� Avant said.

Back in his studio, Avant made the final selection while listening to Joy鈥檚 music on repeat, allowing the sound and mood to guide his creative decisions. Over the course of three days, the final oil painting came together.

The last Zoom meeting was dedicated to approval. Avant recalls watching Joy鈥檚 reaction as she saw the completed cover for the first time. 鈥淗er eyes lit up,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he absolutely loved it.鈥�

The album would go on to win a Grammy Award, marking a significant milestone in both Joy鈥檚 and Avant鈥檚 professional careers. Reflecting on the experience, he describes the collaboration as both affirming and inspiring.

鈥淗aving the opportunity to work with such a talent as Samara Joy was a blessing,鈥� Avant said. 鈥淚 look forward to what鈥檚 to come.鈥�

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As Lead Character Designer, Computer Animation Faculty Joseph Pepe began creating the iconic Ash Na鈥檝i (Mangkwan) Clan in 2013. Pepe鈥檚 work involved meetings with Academy Award-winning writer/producer/director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau, as well as an extensive collaboration process with production designers, effects and animation teams, makeup artists, and costume designers.

Over nearly 30 years in the entertainment and effects industry, Pepe has worked in a wide range of creative roles, including visual effects artist, concept artist, and character makeup designer. His extensive film credits span numerous major productions, including Alien vs. Predator, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, The Cabin in the Woods, and all of the Avatar films鈥攂ringing a depth of industry expertise that continues to inform his work and teaching at 红杏视频.

鈥淢y role as Lead Character Designer entailed designing and managing many aspects of the character design process,鈥� Pepe said in an Instagram post. 鈥淔rom faces and bodies to strip patterns, bioluminescence patterns, and makeup, plus many other minutiae involving character details.鈥�

After the generic Ash female and male characters were designed, along with concepts for the Tlalim (Windtraders) Clan, the Sully Family, and the Recoms, Pepe began working out the specific details of evil sorceress Varang, played by Oona Chaplin. That design process stretched into 2017, including another meeting with Cameron and Landau to review screenshots from auditions.

鈥淚 had been creating initial concepts of Varang using various female faces from my selected references,鈥� Pepe said. 鈥淚 had already established the feathered headpiece, tight-bound breast ropes, and a loincloth. In the middle of 2017, Legacy Effects began their ZBrush and digital scan design process as Varang began to take shape.鈥�

Pepe was also a key character designer for the original 2009 Avatar film. More details about his contribution to Avatar: Fire and Ash can be found in a new hardcover book, The Making of Avatar: Avatar | Avatar: The Way of Water | Avatar: Fire and Ash, available now. A book of artwork from the film will be released this summer.

鈥淎s each one of the sequels are released, I am honored to have been part of this team of incredible artists and people,鈥� Pepe said.

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Directed by Benjamin Kegan, Seconds Away offers an intimate view of the close relationship between the Olympic-hopeful Belgian American runner Peter Callahan and his coach Patrick McHugh, who is diagnosed with cancer. Kegan鈥檚 work often explores how relationships to our bodies can reveal something deeper about who we are as a society and individuals, situating the body within a larger political, cultural, or social context. In the 2009 short film Team Taliban, he explored post-9/11 politics through professional wrestling and his 2020 documentary Expiration Term of Service centered on the labor tensions of aging soldiers caught in military bureaucracy.  

鈥淪tylistically, we wanted the film to feel more like a narrative feature than a traditional talking-heads documentary,鈥� said Kegan, shining light on Webley鈥檚 cinematography on the project. 鈥淒rawing from works like Chlo茅 Zhao鈥檚 The Rider and Kon Ichikawa鈥檚 Tokyo Olympiad, we leaned into v茅rit茅 intimacy and a cinematic, subjective style to immerse the viewers in the rhythm, breath, and inner world of our subjects.鈥�

A Forbes review compared Seconds Away to the renowned 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams, noting that 鈥淜egan and Webley captured a slice of life in a way that is not often presented on screen for professional runners.鈥�

The Voyage Out,听directed by Barlow Jacobs, follows professional hunter Mark Warnke, survival expert Callie Russell, and 28-year-old tech entrepreneur Mansal Denton on an eventful eight-day bow-hunting trip in the Sawtooth Mountain Range in Idaho. Webley shot the film using Super 16mm film. Executive producers Ley Line Entertainment also produced Best Picture Winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Jacobs described the logistical challenges Webley and the rest of the crew faced during the shoot: 鈥淚 knew we were going to be deep in the mountains and fully off the grid for eight to 10 days, shooting on film, with a three-man crew: cinematographer, an assistant cameraman, and a sound guy. I knew the logistics of that were going to be a massive challenge. Marc told me we would be hiking five to eight miles per day at around 9,000-11,000 feet elevation. And we would be doing that with all of our film gear, off-trail, traversing a raw and brutal landscape. The temperature fluctuates from 11 degrees to 78 degrees on any given day. We were sleeping on the ground. I could go on and on.鈥�

Webley previously served as the cinematographer for the 2020 Peruvian comedy La Restauraci贸n by writer/director Alonso Llosa and as director/cinematographer for the 2022 short film Beef.

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Among the lineup of authors, editors, and industry experts were several familiar faces from 红杏视频鈥檚 Creative Writing faculty and alumni community. Creative Writing faculty members Glenn Schudel, Sylvia Whitman, Esty Loveing-Downes, and Creative Writing Interim Department Head Dr. Ryan Van Cleave also contributed to panel discussions. 

Schudel presented Which Path Is Right for You? Big Publisher, Indie Press, or DIY? and co-led the interactive workshop First Pages That Stick: Hooking Readers from Line One, where participants read opening pages aloud and offered supportive, constructive feedback. He also joined the lively Pitch, Please! speed-pitching event for aspiring authors.

Whitman鈥檚 session, Voice, Vision & Vibe: Finding the Heart of Your Project, encouraged participants to reconnect with the emotional core of their work. She was also part of the Pitch, Please! speed-pitching.

The day also featured industry consultations through Ask an Editor/Agent, where writers could get real-time feedback on their pitches and publishing questions. Among the professionals fielding those questions was literary agent, Ringling alum, and adjunct faculty member Esty Loveing-Downes, who shared insider insights on navigating the industry.

Interim Department Head for Creative Writing Dr. Ryan Van Cleave also consulted at the Ask an Editor/Agent event. Additionally, he contributed to the Beyond the Book: Getting Paid to Write鈥擬agazines, Freelance Markets, and More panel, helping participants learn to identify the right markets, craft effective pitches, and get their work published and paid for.

Attendance exceeded expectations, with more than 90 participants attending the morning panel alone. 鈥淚t was out-the-door popular,鈥� said Van Cleave.听

Film grad Patricia Pete, who now works within the Sarasota County Library system and is publishing her own books, also served as a panel moderator.

The Off the Page Literary Celebration continues throughout November, featuring author talks, workshops, and the keynote appearance of bestselling author Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club, The Backyard Bird Chronicles). Learn more and see the full schedule for on the Sarasota County Libraries website.

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Patton, a field scientist, restoration professional, and one of 红杏视频鈥檚 Subject Matter Experts, takes students outside of the classroom to learn face-to-flower about the environments around them鈥攚hether it鈥檚 the landscaping on campus, the wildflowers along the side of the road, or the greenery growing wild in local parks. More than just identification, the goal is to learn about the interconnectedness of species, the effects of invasive flora and fauna, and the ways students can affect even a small patch of earth for the better.

In addition to his campus strolls, Patton leads six to eight accessible field trips per semester to local parks, including nearby North Water Tower Park and The Bay, as well as northwest Bradenton鈥檚 Robinson Preserve.

The trips usually involve hands-on projects like removing invasive species or planting trees, demonstrating in real-time the difference students can make. (Field trip participants earn an automatic A toward 20% of their grade.)

鈥淚 just kind of wanted to get active, be out in the environment,鈥� said Sebastien Vaughn 鈥�28, Film, during a recent field trip to North Water Tower Park to remove invasive air potato plants. 鈥淲hen we do [other] classes, we’re just kind of stuck doing stuff at a desk. We rarely get outside, and this is nice because we get to see nature and impact nature.鈥�

Even outside of class, Patton鈥檚 students are encouraged to be observant. One-fifth of their grade involves using the iNaturalist app to identify 100 species over the course of the semester, whether they鈥檙e here in Sarasota, back at home, or anywhere else in the world.

For their final project, assigned on the first day of class, students must use their art to address issues related to biodiversity. The assignment has yielded some scientifically significant works, some of which have been published in naturalist magazines.

For instance, due to Patton鈥檚 connections in the scientific community, classes are sometimes exposed to newly discovered species. 鈥淚’ve had several students draw plants that have never had art of them before,鈥� said Patton.

Patton also owns environmental consulting firm, Stocking Savvy, which uses ecological principles to restore and manage native Florida ecosystems. He鈥檚 been able to include his classes in projects that benefit the College in more ways than one.

鈥淢ost schools don’t think about their maintenance department, and maintenance departments also tend to be the lowest funded,鈥� he explained. 鈥淪o, by having the students design a landscape on campus that maintenance would have had to redo anyway, it saves [the College] design time. And we install it, too. They just have to take care of it afterwards. And because maintenance sets the parameters, and they pick the winning design, we know they’re going to be fine taking care of it.鈥�

His next class project will be the installation of an on-campus bat house. 鈥淚t’ll pull bats out of all the buildings, so that’s actually going to lower the chance of bat encounters,鈥� Patton said. 鈥淭hey’ll eat mosquitoes and moths all over campus, including those annoying little moths. We’ll have like an hour each night where we’ll see thousands and thousands of bats pour out.鈥�

Students ultimately come away with a new appreciation for the interconnectedness of nature and the ways that knowledge can elevate their work.

鈥淲e get to go out and see all of the creatures,鈥� said Rebecca Peitz 鈥�27, Computer Animation. 鈥淎nd I think it’s helpful to my major because obviously you have to design environments and that kind of stuff. Being in nature and learning about why things happen and why they’re there, it gives you a more detailed relationship and knowledge as you’re constructing and reconstructing those environments.鈥�

Sean Patton is an expert in Florida ecology, habitat restoration, aquatic landscaping, invasive species management, science education, butterfly gardening, and Florida native landscaping with a focus on aquatic ecosystems.

红杏视频鈥檚 faculty and staff are practicing artists, designers, industry leaders, and educators on the cutting edge of their fields. Learn more about 红杏视频鈥檚 Subject Matter Experts on our website. Here, you will find distinguished experts on a diverse range of topics, from West African textiles to macroeconomics to the history of Sarasota.

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The current exhibition, running through November 29, features storybook depictions from The Wizard of Oz, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and fairy tales such as The Little Mermaid, as well as characters from Greek mythology, including Odysseus, Medusa, and Achilles.

Freeberg studied painting at the New York Academy of Art and has worked as a freelance children鈥檚 book illustrator for more than 20 years. His awards include an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, the Holbein Prize for Fantasy Art, and the 2024 Colorado Book Award for Juvenile Literature.

The Clymer Museum in Ellensburg, Washington, was created to honor noted 20th-century illustrator John Clymer, whose work included cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post, Woman鈥檚 Day, and Field and Stream.

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Using her own body as the subject, Rom谩n creates tightly-cropped compositions that deconstruct the human figure into a series of abstract shapes and forms. Wearing pastel bodysuits and tights, the artist transforms her flesh into undulating landscapes and still-life compositions by photographing her body in a series of unconventional postures. The result is an intimate, provocative, and dreamlike installation that invites viewers to consider the human figure from a point of true abstraction and inquiry.

Rom谩n has long been interested in portraiture, often choosing women as her models. According to the artist, she loves photographing people, putting her subjects in strange positions, and emphasizing the essence of the portrait through fashion and prop selection. In this exhibition, however, it鈥檚 the artist herself who is in the crosshairs of the camera lens. Rom谩n says she has avoided self-portraiture for years, but now finds the approach freeing both artistically and psychologically.

鈥淚 think self-portraiture may be the most challenging genre of artmaking,鈥� shared Rom谩n. 鈥淭o turn the camera on ourselves takes a good deal of bravery. In these images, we reveal ourselves in a multitude of ways.鈥�

Roman鈥檚 evolving artistic process has led to a shift from single-frame photography to composite images that border on collage. This new approach allows for greater control and scale, resulting in photography that is at once meticulously crafted and emotionally raw.

鈥淗ere, my body is the environment,鈥� Rom谩n explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 too big again, but this time, that鈥檚 the point. This is what I want people to feel: that bigness is not a flaw. It鈥檚 a presence.鈥�

While Roman鈥檚 newest exhibition is very personal, it鈥檚 also widely accessible.

鈥淚 find it thrilling when people connect with the art on view and bring their own experiences, memories, and stories to the work,鈥� shared Rom谩n. 鈥淚 create the initial meaning, and then my viewers create their own layers of meaning.鈥�

鈥淭his exhibition is another example of how, as part of 红杏视频, Sarasota Art Museum is able to draw on the talents and expertise of our accomplished colleagues to ensure that our exhibitions are exciting and compelling,鈥� shared Executive Director Virginia Shearer. 鈥淚n the past, we鈥檝e been able to engage the talents of faculty like Joe Fig (Contemplating Vermeer, 2024) and Jamie DeRuyter (Future Now, 2025). This season, we are pleased to be bringing these wonderful photographs by Ringling photography faculty Selina Rom谩n to the Museum to share with Sarasota locals and tourists alike.”

In addition to being a faculty member at 红杏视频, Rom谩n is a proud Floridian and Tampa Bay-based artist. Her work is currently in the collection of the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, The Tampa Museum of Art and Hillsborough Community College, as well as numerous private collections.

Rom谩n will give an opening-day talk about the exhibition on Saturday, August 30, from 11 am-12 pm at Sarasota Art Museum鈥檚 Sarasota High School Alumni Auditorium. Learn more or buy tickets on the website. 红杏视频 students, faculty, and staff can attend for free, but must reserve a seat.

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鈥淎ny room I鈥檓 in, if Shakespeare comes up, the students all crane their necks around to see my expression,鈥� said Creative Writing faculty Glenn Schudel. 鈥淚 am that guy.鈥�

Though his Creative Writing courses don鈥檛 focus on Shakespeare, Schudel likes to sprinkle his lessons鈥攁nd his conversations鈥攚ith insights, techniques, and even trivia from the Bard and from theater in general. He鈥檚 especially keen on classical rhetoric, citing examples of various rhetorical techniques used by Shakespeare鈥檚 characters.

Schudel鈥檚 theatrical roots go back to his childhood in Arcadia, when his family would come to Sarasota (鈥渢he big city,鈥� as he thought of it then) to see performances. His first job after undergrad was as an assistant stage manager with Sarasota鈥檚 Asolo Repertory Theatre.

His ambitions took him to Chicago and New York before he finally decided to pursue a graduate degree at Mary Baldwin University, where he studied Shakespeare and performance. He dove into rhetorical studies and also took several classes on dramaturgy. For his M.Litt thesis, he went through Shakespeare鈥檚 plays character by character, examining the types of rhetoric they each used. It was 200 pages typed.

鈥淚 always liked Shakespeare. I was a nerd growing up,鈥� said Schudel. 鈥淏ut this was a really wild experience for me, where I learned to love the works of Shakespeare more by taking them down off the pedestal. They鈥檙e all deeply weird and funny and horny and strange.鈥澨�

After grad school, Schudel worked for three years as the tour manager for the American Shakespeare Center, touring three shows and 19 educational workshops up and down the eastern half of the U.S. By the end, he was being asked to edit the plays as well, providing trimmed versions of the texts to be performed. 

Then he took an adjunct teaching gig at Randolph College. 鈥淭hat gave me the bug,鈥� he remembered. 鈥淚 realized I really like teaching at the college level.鈥�

He began teaching at 红杏视频 in 2018 and joined the faculty in 2023. While he didn鈥檛 ever think he鈥檇 be teaching Creative Writing, he now recognizes how much of his theater background can be helpful to his students.

鈥淭his is not new advice for me, but a lot of writing teachers will tell you that you should read your writing out loud. You can hear the flow and rhythm and sounds,鈥� he explained. And generating your own fictional characters is not unlike how actors figure out how to perform a part. 

鈥淭he stuff I learned in my acting classes in college, I was having my students do that kind of work in my writing classes,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o then, every class, I would pull out one acting exercise. It鈥檚 shocking how much writing and theater have in common.鈥澨�

And at 红杏视频, he often sees his enthusiasm reflected back at him. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been such a pleasure working here where all of the students are studying something that they love,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never taught a class here that was labor. It鈥檚 always fun. [The students] are so weird and smart and clever and artsy.听

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