KALAMAZOO—May 20, 2026
Whether visitors are drawn to contemporary fashion, regional creativity, Japanese ceramics, reflections on the American experience, or explorations of animals in art and culture, the KIA’s 2026 season offers fresh points of view and lasting impressions.
“Art museums are among the few places where people can gather around real objects and joint experiences, slow down, and encounter ideas larger than themselves,” says Michelle Hargrave, Executive Director of the KIA. “These exhibitions invite visitors to explore beauty, history, identity, resilience, and imagination while discovering new perspectives and meaningful connections through art.”
West Michigan Area Show
May 29 – September 27, 2026
This crowd-pleasing annual juried exhibition featuring artists of West Michigan was curated from more than 500 entries, including: paintings, prints, photos, mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and mixed-media works. Sponsored by CWS Financial Advisors, and David Isaacson, in memory of his wife, Helen Sheridan
For the People, By the People: America at 250
June 27 – October 4, 2026
Take time to reflect on America’s enduring ties to liberty, justice, and identity. Drawing inspiration from the democratic ideals expressed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” this exhibition considers how the promise of freedom has been represented, questioned, and reevaluated across generations. Sponsored by Efroymson Family Fund, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Talsma Furniture.
Resilience–A Sansei Sense of Legacy
August 8 – November 1, 2026
Told from the point of view of Sansei (third generation) Japanese Americans, Resilience reflects on the forced internment of Japanese Americans as it resonated from generation to generation. The artists in this exhibition express moments of deeply felt pain and reluctant acceptance, emotions which were often withheld by their elders. Resilience—A Sansei Sense of Legacy is a program of Exhibits USA and National Endowment for the Arts. Presentation in Kalamazoo is sponsored by the Joy Light East Asian Art Acquisition and Exhibition Fund.
Among the Beasts: Wild, Tamed, & Imagined
October 31, 2026 – January 31, 2027
Explore the many roles animals have played in artistic expression for millennia. Through diverse media, artists depict animals as subjects of labor and companionship, symbols of the natural world, and figures of imagination that blur the boundaries between reality and myth.
Statement Pieces: Fashioning the Self & Society
November 7, 2026 – February 7, 2027
Bringing together selections from the KIA’s collection spanning nearly 200 years, and contemporary fashion objects from the Barrett Barrera Projects collection, Statement Pieces: Fashioning the Self & Society explores how self-expression has been presented, shaped, and reimagined. From Alexander McQueen to James Van Der Zee, groupings of representational and abstract artworks, displayed alongside runway fashions, invite viewers to consider the dynamic between one’s exterior appearance and inner life—between what is seen and what is self-defined. Organized in conjunction with Barrett Barrera Projects.
Chanoyu: Modern Tea Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection
November 21, 2026 – February 28, 2027
Drawn from the distinguished collection of Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz, Chanoyu (pronounced chan-o-u) presents a focused selection of contemporary and modern Japanese tea bowls and water jars that honor and reinvent the traditions of the tea ceremony. Through subtle variations in form, glaze, and texture, these works reveal the enduring influence of chanoyu while embracing the individuality of postwar ceramics studio practices. Sponsored by the Joy Light East Asian Art Acquisition and Exhibition Fund.
About the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Founded in 1924, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is a nationally accredited art museum and community art school that brings people together through creativity, learning, and shared experience. Each year, more than 100,000 visitors explore 10–15 rotating exhibitions across the museum’s 10 galleries, drawn from a permanent collection of more than 4,600 works spanning American, European, Asian, and contemporary art.
Beyond the galleries, the KIA is a place where art is not only viewed but made. The Kirk Newman Art School (KNAS) welcomes more than 3,400 enrollments annually, offering hands-on instruction in ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, drawing and painting, printmaking, fiber, photography, glass fusing, and enrichment programs for all ages. Students learn directly from professional artists and educators in a dynamic, studio-based environment.
The museum campus also includes a multi-media auditorium, a publicly accessible art library, an interactive children’s gallery, and the KIA Gallery Shop featuring work by local, regional, and international artists.
Through exhibitions, education, and community partnerships, the KIA serves as a cultural anchor for Southwest Michigan — a place where art sparks curiosity, strengthens connection, and inspires new ways of seeing. Learn more at kiarts.org.