Michelle Foligno, Mixed Media Artist, Textile Designer, Educator, Arts Management

Michelle is a passionate artist, arts educator, and textile designer. She holds a BFA in Textile Design/Fabric Styling from The Fashion Institute of Technology and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Manhattanville College. She is also certified through Tufts University to teach Engineering/STEAM education, The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY to teach Architecture Design and Pratt Institute to teach Fashion Design. Michelle is trained in the International Baccalaureate program and in Advanced Placement 3D & 2D through CollegeBoard.

Michelle started her career as a Textile Surface Designer working for many well-known brands. She soon created her own design studio with contracted artists. Her industry experiences spans Womenswear, Menswear, Childrenswear and Home Furnishings. Some of the brands Michelle has worked with include Polo Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, DKNY, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Gap, Old Navy, Anne Klein, Talbots, Hanover Direct, David Chu, Home Goods and Target.  She has worked on both the East and West coasts.

Michelle started her second career as a Visual Arts Educator instructing 2D and 3D mediums such as ceramics, fused glass & lampworking, sculpture, architecture design, drawing & painting, fashion design/illustration and printmaking. She is an Adjunct within higher-education arts programs, helping pre-service art teachers in their education and visual art journeys. She is also an Arts Program Manager, working with a local non-profit to help facilitate bringing more art and artists to the community. Michelle believes in justice for all people and has cultivated environments that are free from judgement and bias. She is committed to fostering a creative community, guided by the principle that all people are entitled to its tools of expression.

Michelle is an accomplished artist who has been commissioned by private clients and has shown her works in galleries across the New York area. She has recently moved to Florida and is starting to show more of her new works in South Florida galleries.