Fashion is Art—and CCAD is there—during May Gallery Hop

The Short North Arts District celebrates the intersection and interconnections between fashion and fine art 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 7, during the neighborhood’s monthly Gallery Hop. Ten pairs of visual artists and fashion designers have collaborated on works that will be on view in 10 Short North galleries as part of the new event “Fashion is Art,” organized by Michelle Brandt of Brandt-Roberts Galleries and Yohannan "Yogi" Terrell, founder of the Columbus Fashion Alliance. Both longtime contributors to Columbus’ art scene. (And Terrell will be emcee of the 2022 CCAD Fashion Show on Thursday, May 12.)

"Fashion is art,” Terrell told The Columbus Dispatch. “Whether the medium is cotton or it's canvas.”

Columbus, ranked no. 3 in the U.S. for fashion, is the perfect home to such an event—and given Columbus College of Art & Design’s instrumental role in the worlds of fashion and fine art, it’s little surprise that several of the artist-designer pairings have CCAD connections. For instance, Professor and Fashion Design Chair Suzanne Cotton has teamed up with artist Chris Thalgott (Illustration, 1984) on a piece on view in the Sean Christopher Gallery—which itself is owned by CCAD alum John Joseph McCutcheon (Fine Arts, 1979).

Other participants with CCAD connections include:

• Adjunct Faculty Melissa Vogley Woods and alum Xuena Pu (Fashion Design, 2020) at Hammond Harkins Gallery 
• Meghan Kerr (Fine Arts, 2005) with Amber Groome at Lindsay Gallery
• Ryan Orweiler (Illustration, 2004) with Veena Bansal at Marcia Evans Gallery
• Sarah Hout (Illustration, 2004) with Joan Madison at Sarah Gormley Gallery
• Jen McCracken (Fine Arts, 1990) with Bev Whiteside and Voszi Douglas at Studios on High Gallery

Terrell told the Dispatch that he would like to see more experiences showcasing Columbus’ creative scene for a larger audience. He “envisions a design and garment district in Columbus, as a space where art, fashion and culture can coexist. The Design District in Miami is one example of what that could look like,” reported the Dispatch.

Brandt told the Dispatch that Fashion is Art represents one of the first iterations of such an effort. And as to the future of Fashion is Art? “Terrell and Brandt intend to make it an annual event and even bigger in the years to come, like Columbus' version of the Met Gala,” reported the Dispatch.

Read the entire Columbus Dispatch article on Fashion is Art at Gallery Hop here.   

Learn more about the Fashion Design, Fine Arts, and Illustration programs at CCAD or apply here.