Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

The KIA had both attendees and presenters at the Michigan Museums Association Annual Conference. KIA Associate Curator of Adult Programs, Dr. Miriam Thomas, and KIA Librarian, Jacqueline Thompson, led a presentation and poetry workshop. Participants wrote original poems based on the artwork in our centennial exhibition Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century.

KIA staff members Alexis Mejia, Associate Director of Equity & Community Engagement, and Nancy Waldoch, Advancement Liaison, joined museum colleagues from across Michigan to learn and share knowledge at the 2024 MMA Annual Conference: Navigating Changing Landscapes. Many thanks to the Michigan Museums Association for putting this event together and to the conference's generous sponsors for bringing this event to Kalamazoo.

Need a gift for a friend or family member? The Gallery Shop at the KIA is the perfect place for all your gift-giving needs. Make sure to stop by this Saturday from 11:00am - 5:00pm and check out all of our offerings, especially those inspired by our current exhibition, Clearly Indigenous! #KIA100 #Centennial #KIA #KalamazooInstituteOfArts #SupportTheArts #LocalArtists #KalamazooEvents

Join us today for extended hours and take advantage of free general admission thanks to generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is proud to be working with Art Bridges Foundation to increase access to museums and foster engagement with local audiences. Enjoy free general admission at the KIA TODAY, and every fourth Thursday of the month, featuring extended hours (we are open until 8:00 pm tonight!). Come and see all the KIA has to offer! If you miss this opportunity, don't worry - our next Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All day featuring free general admission is July 25. See you soon! Image: Dale Chihuly, Kalamazoo Ruby Light Chandelier, 1998, blown glass, wire, armature. Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Gift of Christopher and Margo Light. #ArtForEveryone #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #KirkNewmanArtSchool #KNAS #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt

Remember: Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass will be on view at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts until August 18. Clearly Indigenous is a first-of-its-kind, groundbreaking exhibition giving broader and overdue recognition to a wide range of contemporary Native American and Indigenous, Pacific-Rim artists working in glass. Including nearly 100 glassworks created by twenty-nine Native American artists, four Pacific-Rim artists from New Zealand and Australia, along with selections from leading glass artist Dale Chihuly, Clearly Indigenous is a one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking exhibition that we are very excited to share with the community. View Clearly Indigenous Special Exhibition Pricing here: https://lnkd.in/decbBFr3 Admission price includes all Special Exhibitions and the museum’s permanent collection galleries. Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass was originated by The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico. The traveling exhibit was curated by Dr. Letitia Chambers, and is toured by International Arts & Artists. Support provided by the Arts Fund of Kalamazoo County, a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Image: Dan Friday, Foraging Bear Totem, 2016, Blown and hand-sculpted glass, 25¾ “ x 7” x 7”, Photographed by Russel Johnson, Image courtesy of Steven Harris, © Dan Friday. #InternationalArtsandArtitsts #IAA #ArtForEveryone #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt

Our ArtBreak is transitioning to an Artful Evening! Please note that our ArtBreak scheduled for TOMORROW, Tuesday June 25 is transitioning to an Artful Evening and is now at 6:00pm at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. A light reception will precede the event at 5:00. The Anniversary Show: Exploring Works from the Joy and Timothy Light Collection with Dr. Mary-Louise Totton will take place at 6:00pm. Learn more about works featured in The Anniversary Show: Promised Gifts from the Joy and Timothy Light Collection. This exhibition delves into the artistic heritage of China and Japan by exploring a variety of media, including ink paintings, calligraphy, and woodblock prints. Presented in collaboration with prominent local collectors Joy and Timothy Light, the exhibition celebrates the enduring legacy of Chinese and Japanese art and the generosity of the Light family, whose promised gift enriches our collection and the cultural heritage of the Kalamazoo community. Come celebrate this important gift to the community! This event is FREE, so reserve your spot today at: https://bit.ly/3VF1bqj #ArtForEveryone #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #KirkNewmanArtSchool #KNAS #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt

See you tomorrow at 2:00pm at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for our Book Discussion of Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo. Joy Harjo, the first native american to be named the United States Poet Laureate, chronicles a sweeping view of ancestry, storytelling, and memory told through her signature lyrical poetry and prose. Harjo cites the teachers that forced her to fight battles throughout her life and surrounds them with compassion and understanding, sometimes facing horrendous realities but continuing to persevere. Share your thoughts on this special publication with the community at the Meader Fine Arts Library! This event is FREE, reserve your ticket today: https://bit.ly/4cpYNun #BookDiscussion #Book #Reader #FineArtsLibrary #ArtForEveryone #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt

Join us for an artist’s talk and live demonstration tomorrow at 12:00pm with Jeffrey Bohl, whose sculpture Ellie is featured in the 2024 West Michigan Area Show! Bohl has been creating bronze sculptures for over 16 years, exhibiting along the way in numerous regional competitions and in several individual shows. He pours most of his bronzes in his own backyard, using foundry equipment he has designed and built himself. He creates sculptures by assemblage, first creating various hollow wax forms, then looking for relationships between those individual shapes and assembling them into compelling larger forms. Bohl tends toward light-hearted figurative work and has been creating animal forms for the last few years. His work is represented by J. Petter Gallery in Saugatuck. This event is FREE! Register today at: https://lnkd.in/gPs3HyKD Be sure to stop by the West Michigan Area Show before June 24 to cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award! The winner of this award, sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Kalamazoo, will be announced during Art Hop on Friday, July 12, at 6:00 pm. #ArtForEveryone #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #KirkNewmanArtSchool #KNAS #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt

Join us at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for Juneteenth Community Day this Saturday, June 15 from 11:00am - 5:00pm. Watch multi-disciplinary artist, writer, and activist Faith Ringgold read her children's book Tar Beach, and then participate in a community paper quilt project. A recording of Tar Beach will play on a loop between 11:15 and 11:30am, and family friendly activities will be happening throughout the day. General admission to the KIA will be FREE on June 15th in honor of Juneteenth! Join us where art is for everyone. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gei5TGrP #ArtForEveryone #Juneteenth #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt

The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is proud to host Artful Evening: Blue Landscapes with Emily J. Gómez tomorrow, Thursday June 13 from 6:00 - 7:00pm. Michigan photographer Emily J. Gómez will share her work in New Cyanotype, explaining how and why she uses this handmade blueprint process. Through the series Unearthed, she investigates places where Native American towns in the Southeast and Midwest once prospered and considers what they have become. Her latest series, titled Cumberland Island: Land, Water, Wind, and Light, is a collaboration with artists Christa Bowden and Ernesto R. Gómez. Her focus for the project is on the Georgia barrier island’s Native American, African American, and Carnegie family histories, and the island’s impending loss due to rising sea levels. Gómez earned a BA in Fine Arts Photography from Loyola University Chicago in 1998, and an MFA with Distinction in Photography from the University of Georgia in 2006. Her work has been exhibited widely and is in the permanent collection of the Zuckerman Museum of Art in Kennesaw, Georgia. Come learn about New Cyanotype and the places that Gómez features in their work. Image: Emily Gómez, Chief Menominee Memorial, Plymouth, Indiana, 2010, 8"x10" New Cyanotype print on Wyndstone Vellum. Remember to register for this FREE event here: https://lnkd.in/gu4DXrQp #ArtForEveryone #ArtfulEvening #KalamazooInstituteofArts #KIA #Kalamazoo #Art #KalamazooArt