Ringling College of Art and Design Veteran’s Club student president Josh Thomas Bray ’24, Creative Writing, wrote an article for Sarasota Scene Magazine on the upcoming exhibition, War Paint: Profiles of Courage. In the article “Honoring Heroes: War Paint: Profiles of Courage Exhibition Returns to Ringling College,” Bray shared the importance of the exhibition, “In a world that sometimes feels fragmented, this artistic endeavor unites the threads of the community, forging a connection between Veteran, artist, and admirer.”
The annual exhibition features 100 portraits of local veterans painted by Ringling College students and faculty. Each year the exhibition includes a subtheme. In the past, the gallery has been painted in camouflage, stars and stripes, and red, white, and blue bands. This year, the theme is more conceptual, considering the six branches of the military.
The exhibition will be open for the campuswide art event, Art Walk, on Friday, Nov. 10, from 5-8 pm. The exhibition includes images that tell stories from WWll, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and current enlisted troops with the goal of humanizing distant conflicts. The annual exhibit is a collaboration of Ringling College Galleries and the College’s Veteran’s Club and is emblematic of the institution’s efforts to support veteran students.
In the spring of 2023, Ringling College had 15 veterans and military-affiliated students graduate. This fall, 28 new students who are veterans or dependents of veterans started at the College, moving our total from 69 enrolled military affiliates to 82.
Also celebrating Veterans Day, a memorial sculpture by Ringling alum Dawn Agnew-Mundell ’99, Illustration, will be dedicated at The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch, a retirement community here in Sarasota, today. The bronze Veterans & Visionaries Memorial Eagle has been a year in the making and was commissioned to honor the 355 veterans who have lived at The Glenridge since it opened.
Ringling College of Art and Design made the 2023 Military Times Best for Vets College List and was designated a Military Friendly® School for the 2023-2024 Military Friendly® Cycle.
These efforts are made possible by the Veterans and Military Affiliated Services Department, which provides information and services needed for students using, or looking to use, VA educational benefits. The department assists with charting the transition from military life and helps promote the student’s knowledge of resources, self-growth, and connections.
