This week marks the opening of the 15th annual Ligature exhibition, a student-organized celebration of typography and lettering in various formats and media, established by Ringling College of Art and Design’s Type Club. This year’s iteration, Ligature XV: Misprint, will be on view in the Willis Smith Gallery until March 21, 2025.
In typeface design, a ligature is a single typographic character that is a connected combination of two or more letters. A common example would be the merged first two letters of “aesthetic” which in printed books sometimes appears as “æsthetic.” Graphic Design Department Head Jeff Bleitz explains the use of the character as the catalyst for an exhibition, “It’s the kind of inside-knowledge reference that you might expect for an event started by a small group of graphic design students. And that’s exactly what it is.”
Ligature XV was juried by Cymone Wilder, a lettering artist and designer who helps build products, brands, and experiences through custom lettering and design. Wilder gave a presentation about her work in the Morganroth Auditorium on Feb. 14, the day of the exhibition opening. The exhibit was produced by Type Club Officers Dave Scheele ’25, Avery Frost ’25, Jessie Cross ’25, Ivy Jenkins ’26, Daniel Mainou Reyes ’26, and Samantha Mandato ’26.
Co-creative director Dave Scheele shared, “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind putting this exhibition together! It takes a lot of work, and I’m really lucky to be a part of a great team who made it a lot of fun. Avery Frost and I have been part of the production team for the show since our sophomore year, so for us to be in charge of it now our senior year has been really exciting. The show is always a great chance for students from all the majors and all the class years to be a part of something. The work submitted this year is really great. I feel like it gets better every year, which makes me really proud.”
The annual exhibit was first established in the Spring of 2011, as a one-night pop-up event on the fourth-floor hallway of the Larry R. Thompson Academic Center. Submissions were limited to Graphic Design majors and it was curated by officers of the Type Club, which had been established just the year before. For the next nine years, Ligature continued as a one-night event, moving from that hallway to the Willis Smith Gallery to the Roskamp Exhibition Hall, until Ringling College Galleries and Exhibition Director and Chief Curator Tim Jaeger invited the club to mount a proper exhibition.
“In 2020, Ligature X marked a turning point, establishing the show as a fully supported and professionally curated exhibition within the Ringling Galleries,” Jaeger shared. “Since then, each year has built upon that foundation, raising the bar for creativity, craftsmanship, and the celebration of typography.”
As the exhibition constantly evolves and redefines itself within the spirit of the ligature concept, the organizers this year chose the theme of the misprint to embrace the humanity of type. The misprint is type behaving badly. It celebrates the intentional and the unintentional.
Co-director Avery Frost expanded on the theme and how it all came together, “Misprint celebrates the process of creating with type by hand, which Dave and I are extremely passionate about. Our juror this year, Cymone Wilder, is also passionate about creating type by hand and focuses on creating beautiful hand-painted artworks using typography.”
As a champion of the exhibition, Jaeger shared, “This year’s Ligature XV continues the tradition of innovation and excellence in typography and design. It’s incredible to see the dedication of the Type Club directors and the creative energy they bring to this exhibition. We’re proud to support their vision and look forward to another inspiring show.”
Ligature XV: Misprint, will be on view in the Willis Smith Gallery until March 21, 2025, and will be open for Ringling College Galleries and Exhibitions’ Art Walk event on Feb. 21, from 5-8 pm. The event is free and open to the public, with eight exhibitions on view, open studios across campus, and four food trucks.
Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest Ringling College news in your inbox.
Contact:
Office of Marketing and Communications
communications@ringling.edu
941-309-4008
