Florida State University (FSU) has officially announced its lineup of exhibitions, workshops, and community programming for the upcoming spring semester, set to engage the Tallahassee community from February through May 2026. The schedule, featuring a range of artistic experiences, will take place across various campus venues, including the Museum of Fine Arts (MoFA), the William Johnston Building Gallery, the Fine Arts Building Gallery, and the Facility for Arts Research.
Kaylee Spencer, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming events. “This spring, we’re excited to welcome a series of world-class exhibitions and arts-focused experiences to FSU,” she stated. “By working with visionary partners on campus and beyond, we’re able to bring this exciting season to fruition. We can’t wait to share these works with the Tallahassee community.”
Spring Exhibition Highlights
One of the major highlights of the season is the debut of the traveling exhibition “Like everything alive that we try to hold forever,” which opens this month at MoFA. Organized by the Esker Foundation and produced by Independent Curators International, this exhibition runs until June 27. It features the works of seven artists, including Larry Achiampong and David Blandy, who delve into themes surrounding human interaction with non-human objects, colonialism, and the influence of artificial intelligence.
Additionally, two ongoing exhibitions will remain available for viewing at MoFA through March 14. “Water Ways: Indigenous Ecologies and Florida Heritage,” co-presented with the FSU Native American and Indigenous Studies Center, engages with Florida’s material cultures through a global lens. Concurrently, “Akimbo,” a solo exhibition by FSU alumna Zoë Charlton, examines how identity is formed through spatial contexts.
Student and Faculty Initiatives
Continuing its support for emerging artists, the William Johnston Building Gallery will host “A Place Within,” a curatorial lab project co-curated by doctoral candidates Estefania Santiago and Sara I. Rodríguez Rivera. The Fine Arts Building Gallery will present three student-focused exhibitions throughout the semester:
– “Horizon: Speculative Worlds and Interdisciplinary Research” from February 5 to 26
– An undergraduate sculpture exhibition from March 5 to 26
– A photography student exhibition from April 6 to 23
Moreover, the Facility for Arts Research will present “Lay of the Land,” an exhibition and symposium featuring Department of Art faculty, on February 20.
February will be particularly eventful, with a variety of workshops and seminars taking place. The Experimental Cartography Workshop, led by researcher and artist Moses März, will run on February 10 and 12, introducing participants to alternative mapping techniques. Another notable event is the “Take-and-Make” session on Valentine’s Day, where visitors can create woven bracelets inspired by their favorite artworks at MoFA.
On February 20, the Lay of the Land Symposium will facilitate discussions on landscape complexity, running from 2 to 5:30 p.m., followed by an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Additionally, an Art Crawl on February 26 will take participants from MoFA to the Dirac Science Library, concluding at the Seminole Organic Garden, with a closing reception for “Water Ways” later that evening.
As the semester progresses, several engaging events are scheduled for March and April, including the Storytime Studio series on March 7, April 4, and May 2, designed to introduce families to art-making activities. Workshops such as Basket Weaving on March 12 and the MFA Thesis Exhibitions on April 10 and 16 will showcase the talents of FSU’s students.
In a virtual format on April 23, curators Elizabeth Diggon, Naomi Potter, and Shauna Thompson will discuss the “Like everything alive…” exhibition, allowing broader access to the insights of the curatorial team.
The programming will culminate in May with an Origami Workshop led by artist Miya Turnbull on May 14, and the opening reception for the 38th Tri-state Juried Watercolor Exhibition, juried by Don Andrews, on May 28.
All exhibitions and events at the Museum of Fine Arts and associated galleries are free and open to the public. For further details, including registration links and operating hours, visitors can access the museum’s website at mofa.fsu.edu. This spring promises to be an enriching season for both the university and the surrounding community, celebrating the power of art and creativity.
