The remarkable success of the 2024 television series Shogun is only the latest example of popular fascination with Japan’s historical warriors, the samurai. Despite all this attention, the samurai remain puzzling for many people: products of both history and myth who have been repeatedly reinvented and used to explain everything from Japanese business practices to…
Please note: ArtBreaks are moving to Wednesdays in 2025. During this ArtBreak, artists Mary Hatch and Elizabeth Kerlikowske will join us to discuss their latest collaboration. Falling Women, the duo’s third co-authored publication, features paintings by Hatch and ekphrastic poetry by Kerlikowske. Guests will hear a sampling of Kerlikowske’s poems while viewing images of the…
Please note: ArtBreaks are moving to Wednesdays in 2025. Join us for a screening of the film Black Ash Basketry: A Story of Cultural Resilience. A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute, Grand Rapids Community College, and the Goodwillie Environmental School, this film explores the role that black ash basketry has played in…
During this virtual ArtBreak, learn about visual artist Leslie Barlow, whose painting Atquezali, At Indigenous Roots is featured in the ongoing KIA exhibition Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century. Barlow’s colorful, life-size oil paintings serve as both monuments to community members and explorations into the ways in which race entangles the intimate spheres of…
In anticipation of Wellspring’s annual RADFest, hear from this year’s RADicle Resident! Puerto Rican movement artist Lourdes del Mar Santiago Lebrón will discuss their new work, Tejer, inspired by the process of weaving. They observe, “Tejido (weaving) relies on pattern making and repetition; the practice, much like dance, requires patience, consistency, and practice. The ephemerality…
During this ArtBreak, Elizabeth Start will offer an overview of the history and mission of Kalamazoo’s Connecting Chords Music Festival, including a description of their 2025 collaboration with K-RESA Education for the Arts to bring San Jose Taiko to town for a public performance on March 25, coupled with concerts for youth. Carolyn Koebel will…
In this virtual ArtBreak, explore the art of puppetry with Bradford Clark, Professor of Theatre at Bowling Green State University. With a strong emphasis in puppetry, Clark has visited collections, studied with or interviewed artists, and attended conferences, festivals, and theatrical performances in India, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Japan, China, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria…
Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers is proud to be in collaboration with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra for a unique offering of music and movement titled Sound in Motion. Sound in Motion will include new choreographic works by Marisa Bianan, the recently appointed Artistic Director, along with a selection from the Wellspring repertoire choreographed by founder Cori…
During this ArtBreak, we again venture beyond the campus of the KIA to visit community partners in the Sourced from the ‘Zoo exhibition! This time, we will be visiting the Black Arts and Cultural Center and the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo for gallery walkthroughs! Come explore the Sourced from the ‘Zoo submissions on display…
Get to know the Kirk Newman Art School’s 2024-2025 resident cohort! In this virtual ArtBreak series, each resident will speak about their work and inspiration, sharing insights about their residencies and aspirations for the future. Our 2024-2025 residents are: Mariah Donmyer, Lexington Fate, Lilly Mattern, Haley McFall, Madison McKenzie, Olivia Stier, and Michael Trimboli. All resident…
During this ArtBreak, artist and educator Tom Rice will discuss the evolution of his large-scale drawings and installations that address the global climate crisis. The increasing size and frequency of hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods are symptoms of a seismic transition from a relatively stable climate to a new normal. The denial of these signs…
In February 1943, Mies van der Rohe published his “Museum for a Small City” in Architectural Forum. Architectural historians have long been fascinated with the concept drawings, but often refer to the plans as never having been realized. And yet, archival evidence suggests that Mies’ “Museum for a Small City” was indeed realized in 1961,…