In May, Art Detectives will be on the case, searching for how artists show people in their artwork. We’ll read a book about different artistic styles, hunt for faces and figures in the permanent collection, and finish by creating our own portrait masterpiece to take home. Arty will be on vacation in June, July, and…
Join us for a special Artful Evening with Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto! Semmelhack is the curator of Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks. During this program, she will talk about why shoes matter and about how designers today are revolutionizing what we will put on…
Inspired by the innovation and history of sneakers, we will provide origami paper to fold your own mini shoe! A variety of styles and difficulty levels will be provided. Check out the exhibition Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks for inspiration and then drop by the library to try your hand at this detailed…
This short collaboration celebrates sneaker culture through poetry. Consisting of two parts, part one is a micro saga-in verse about a quest to find sneakers but yields an even great discovery beyond shoes. Part two is a collection of prose poems, a kind of mixtape, which explores many aspects of sneaker culture from overarching artistic…
Each year, a growing number of talented Kalamazoo filmmakers, both amateur and professional, take on the challenge of participating in the Kazoo 48-Hour Film Festival. Assigned a genre, prop, character quirk, location, and line of dialogue to use within a short film, participants have just 48 hours to bring their visions to life. The winning…
What does it mean to curate as we live through apocalyptic times? Join our 2026 West Michigan Area Show juror, Dr. Xuxa Rodríguez, as she shares about her curatorial practice and explores what making exhibitions and writing about art means as the stakes of our collective global livelihoods grow higher. Dr. Rodríguez will offer reflections…
Stop in to the KIA during Arts Fair for a hands on art activity! We will provide the supplies to create your own Gelli Plate printed sneaker. Experiment with colorways inspired by objects featured in Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks! Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks is co-organized by the American Federation…
During this Gallery Gathering, we will take a closer look at Manierre Dawson's Mother and Child and Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Visitation. While both early 20th century paintings depict religious scenes, the artists approached their subject matter in distinctly different ways. Dawson, credited with being America's first abstract artist, employs Cubist techniques, while Dawson, considered…
In June, bring your little ones for a stroll through the permanent collection. Through close looking and simple gallery activities we'll search for figures and faces in the artwork.
Author Natalie Dykstra recounts the story of Isabella Stewart Gardner's extraordinary life in this moving and illuminating biography. A Boston socialite, Gardner lived a life full of passion but one which was also marked by grief. Dykstra delivers compelling insight into Gardner's friendships, world travels, and her keen eye for collecting treasures all of which…
Join the KIA as we remember Juneteenth, which is a holiday that commemorates the abolishment of slavery in the United States. Participate in various activities, including viewing artworks by African American artists, drop-in low-mess art activities, and more.
Summer Jams returns to the KIA as a lively open mic night celebrating music, poetry, and creative expression. This event brings artists and community members together to share their voices in a welcoming and creative space. Performers of all backgrounds are invited to take the stage, whether you’re a musician, poet, spoken word artist, or…