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The Rollins Museum of Art (RMA) is pleased to announce its winter 2025 season, featuring three new shows and two remaining on view from the fall season, highlighting work from the museum’s extensive collection as well as recent acquisitions and special presentations. This season’s offerings invite visitors to explore the rise and impact of Chicano graphics from 1965 to present, engage with children’s understandings of art, delve into how artists have explored and contributed to artistic traditions, reflect on the value of a liberal arts education in addressing human-driven climate change, and observe the evolution and meaning of portraiture through the centuries.

RMA is excited to announce its presence on the interactive museum app Bloomberg Connects, allowing physical visitors, as well as digital travelers from afar, to explore and learn about the museum’s past, present, and future exhibitions. Download for free here. Visitors are also encouraged to stop into the The Alfond Inn to view the hotel’s latest installation featuring new works like a monumental painting by British artist Richard Long.

¡Printing the Revolution!

In the 1960s, activist Chicano artists forged a remarkable history of printmaking that remains vital today. Many artists came of age during the civil rights, labor, anti-war, feminist, and LGBTQ+ movements and channeled the period’s social activism into assertive aesthetic statements that announced a new political and cultural consciousness among people of Mexican descent in the United States. ¡Printing the Revolution! explores the rise of Chicano graphics within these early social movements and the ways in which Chicanx artists since then have advanced innovative printmaking practices attuned to social justice. This exhibition will be the first to meaningfully unite historic civil rights-era prints alongside works by contemporary printmakers. ¡Printing the Revolution! features over 100 works drawn from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s (SAAM’s) pioneering collection of Latinx art.

Classical Refractions: The Legacy of Antiquity in Visual Culture

Artists working in the ancient Mediterranean developed a powerful artistic tradition anchored on the principles of realism, balance, and proportion that created a visual legacy beyond the fall of the Roman Empire. Since the resurgence in interest in classical styles and themes in the Renaissance, imagemakers have often felt compelled to engage with the visual traditions of the classical world. Guest-curated by Robert Vander Poppen, associate professor of classical art and archaeology, and students in his Museum Studies Practicum, Classical Refractions aims to explore the ways that artists have engaged with the artistic traditions of classical antiquity from the Renaissance to the contemporary.

Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection

How do children perceive, interpret, and evaluate works of art? Presented in partnership with the Rollins’ Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center (CDC), Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection is the museum’s first exhibition collaboratively curated with children ages 2 to 5 enrolled in the CDC’s laboratory preschool. The exhibition features various interpretive approaches that demonstrate how the child curators appreciated and were inspired by works from the collection. It is also the culmination of a research study by the CDC’s leadership, whose findings are published in a freely available exhibition booklet that also includes an essay chronicling the CDC’s 100-year history. The exhibition was collaboratively curated by David Matteson, RMA’s associate curator of education, psychology professor and Hume House executive director Alice Davidson, Hume House director Diane Terorde-Doyle, and 30 preschool children.

Beyond the Surface: Capturing Meaning Through Portraiture

How do portraits influence our perception of their sitters? What do they communicate about values and roles in society? From images of kings and queens to allegorical figures that embody moral values and convey symbolic meaning, portraits document social and political structures of times past. They tell stories, not only of the people represented, but also of their historical context and their unique function as objects. This exhibition brings together a selection of paintings and sculptures by European and American artists from the 16th to the early 20th century. Beyond the obvious visual indicators of social position, these artworks played an important role communicating information about the sitter, reinforcing social or moral values, and shaping perspectives about contemporary society.

Art Encounters: Rethinking My Relationship to the Land

How does a liberal arts education prepare students to consider their ethical responsibility to the environment? What is the role of the visual arts in shaping our understanding of climate change? This exhibition draws upon the knowledge and perspectives of Rollins faculty to highlight the value of a liberal arts education for addressing human-driven climate change. Quotes from faculty representing various disciplines are integrated with works from the collection to encourage dialogue and facilitate a deeper understanding of how they reflect our relationship to the environment. This presentation of Art Encounters is specifically designed for introducing first-year Rollins students to the core principles of a liberal arts education and how these principles may be applied to global challenges like climate change.

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Related Programming

Outdoor Walking Sculpture Tour
Start at the front steps of the museum and explore seven outdoor sculptures from the RMA collection with the beautiful Rollins campus as a backdrop on this 1.6-mile audio tour. 

Self-Guided Tours
Enjoy 360-degree virtual views of current and past exhibitions on your device. 

Art Explorers Club | Ages 6–13
Sign up at the front desk to become an official art explorer. Engage in a series of art challenges and creative missions that expand your imagination and develop your art research skills, all while exploring the museum’s collection. Discover a world full of art as you earn prizes and collect stamps in your very own member’s passport.

Saturdays (January 25–May 10) | 1 & 3 p.m.
Museum Highlights Tours
Visit RMA on Saturday afternoons for docent-led museum tours that highlight works from our current exhibitions.

Sundays (January 26–May 4) | 1 p.m.
Tours at The Alfond Inn
Join us on Sundays in the lobby of The Alfond Inn for a guided tour of selections from The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. There will be no tour April 20. No registration required.

Tuesdays (January 28–May 6) | Until 7 p.m.
RMA @ Nite
Visit after school or after work on Tuesdays for late nights at the museum until 7 p.m.

January 31 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: Classical Refractions: The Legacy of Antiquity in Visual Culture
Led by classical studies and archaeology professor Robert Vander Poppen and students in ARH 404: Museum Studies Practicum.

February 4 | 6 p.m.
Presentation with Scholar Nicole Cromartie: Who's in Charge Here? Sharing Authority with Young Children in Museums
In 2019, the Clyfford Still Museum embarked on a groundbreaking project, inviting young children to co-curate an exhibition. Over three years, 250-plus children and educators collaborated to shape the exhibition Clyfford Still, Art, and the Young Mind (2022). This keynote will explore the catalysts for this innovative shared authority approach, share insights from the development process, and discuss the impact of sharing authority with young children.

February 5, March 5, April 2, May 7 | 6 p.m.
Happy Hour Tours
Join us in the lobby of The Alfond Inn in Winter Park for a 60-minute guided tour of selections from The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. Beverages are available for purchase before, during, and after the tour from the Hamilton’s Kitchen Bar and The Café. Pre-registration required.

February 20–23
Winter Park Arts Weekend
This four-day arts extravaganza will feature dozens of community events and performances at Central Park’s Main Stage and 20-plus cultural venues throughout the city.

February 21 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now
Led by interim director and curator Gisela Carbonell

February 25 | 6 p.m.
Presentation with Scholar Claudia Zapata, associate curator of Latino art, Blanton Museum of Art: ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now
This exhibition is a landmark research and acquisition effort to champion Chicano artists’ contributions to graphic history. In this lecture, Zapata will delve into the process of navigating activist collectors, artist networks, the new digital art chapter, and the shifting notions of the term “Chicano.”

March 28 | 11 a.m.
Exhibition Tour: Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection
Led by David Matteson, associate curator of education, and Alice Davidson, executive director of the Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center.

April 17 | 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Senior Student Exhibition Panel Discussion
The 2025 Senior Student Exhibition showcases multidisciplinary work produced by graduating studio art majors. The final selections for the student exhibition are juried by the art professors and RMA staff.

April 22 | 6 p.m.
Faculty Exhibition Talk
Learn more about works on view from Dana Hargrove, Audrey Hope, Dawn Roe, and Rachel Simmons in their Gallery Talk. The 2025 Biennial Faculty Exhibition showcases multidisciplinary work produced by studio art faculty within the College of Liberal Arts.

April 24 | 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Senior Student Exhibition Panel Discussion
The 2025 Senior Student Exhibition showcases multidisciplinary work produced by graduating studio art majors. The final selections for the student exhibition are juried by the art professors and RMA staff.

Member Events

January 17 | 5:30–7 p.m.
Winter Exhibition Preview
Celebrate the opening of the winter season at RMA with a sneak peek at the newly installed exhibitions. Open to all RMA members and special guests. Registration required. For details and to RSVP, contact dmack@rollins.edu.

March 29 | All-day event
A Day at The Harn with the Director
Enjoy a day trip to the Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville with Gisela Carbonell. Space is limited to 25 individuals. Open to all RMA members and special guests.

May 8 | 5:30–7 p.m.
Art Encounter with the Director
Gather with us for conversation and personal insights into a selection of works in the museum’s collection with Gisela Carbonell. Open to RMA Founders Square members and special guests.

Family Programs

February 1, March 1, May 3 | 10:30–11 a.m.
Family Studio @ RMA (Ages 5–10)
Join us for a memorable morning of art and exploration. Family Studio engages young children and their favorite adult in fun, interactive experiences inspired by our current exhibitions. Each program includes an exclusive tour, story time, and art activity. Register on our website under “Learn & Engage.”

April 5 | 12–4 p.m.
Spring Fling
Join us for a day of family fun. Engage with the current exhibitions through art activities, performances, and docent-led tours at 1 and 3 p.m. Spring Fling is an all-ages event, free, and open to the community. No sign-up or registration is required. This event takes place both in the museum and outdoors on RMA’s back patio.

Programas en Español | Programs in Spanish

Acompaña a la Dra. Gisela Carbonell, Curadora, para recorridos guiados en español. Café y pastelillitos provistos por nuestro auspiciador Café Don Juan. | Join curator Gisela Carbonell for exhibition tours in Spanish. Coffee and pastries provided by our program sponsor, Café Don Juan.

28 de enero | 6 p.m.
ARTE Y CAFÉ CON LA CURADORA
Classical Refractions: The Legacy of Antiquity in Visual Culture

18 de febrero | 6 p.m.
ARTE Y CAFÉ CON LA CURADORA
¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now

18 de marzo | 6 p.m.
ARTE Y CAFÉ CON LA CURADORA
Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection

• Rollins Museum of Art |
• Arts & Culture