The creative industry is changing.
Build a career that moves with it.
The Center for the Creative Economy (CCE) is Ringling College’s hub for entrepreneurship, industry experience, and professional practices. It’s where you develop the skills that make a creative career sustainable: business acumen, financial literacy, client communication, and self-promotion, so you can turn your passion into profession on your own terms.
Most creative careers today are freelance, self-directed, or entrepreneurial at some point. Over 75% of arts and design graduates have been self-employed at some point in their careers. Many build portfolio careers: layering freelance work, client projects, commissioned pieces, and self-started ventures into something that’s genuinely their own. That kind of career takes both talent and knowing how to run your business.
The CCE brings together industry experience, entrepreneurship programming, and professional skills development under one roof so that every Ringling student, regardless of major or year, has a clear path to building the career they want. Whether you’re looking to gain real client experience, launch your own project, earn a credential, or just start understanding the business side of your practice, the CCE has a program for where you are right now. Take a look at our current lineup of programs to find your starting point.
Meet the team
The Center for the Creative Economy team is here to help you find the right opportunities based on your major, your goals, and where you are in your Ringling journey.
Kathleen Sobr
Co-Director of the Center for the Creative Economy
Business of Art and Design Department Head
Rick Dakan
Co-Director of the Center for the Creative Economy
Creative Technologies Inaugural Faculty and AI Coordinator
Anabella Bergero
Creatives Minding Their Business Series Coordinator
Business of Art and Design Faculty
Getting Started
Students, not sure where to start? We can help!
Book a student advising meeting and we’ll point you in the right direction.
Book a meetingApply Now
Workshops, events, and hands-on experiences.
A curated collection of tools, guides, and readings.
Find your starting point and design your path forward.
Find us on Campus
Larry R. Thompson Academic Center - Second Floor
2415 Bradenton Rd, Sarasota, FL 34234The Center for the Creative Economy was created in partnership with the Business of Art and Design program and Creative Technologies at Ringling College of Art and Design. INDEX is an initiative developed by Ringling College in partnership with The Patterson Foundation.
