Community Calendar

Taekyeom Lee: Designed, Printed & Fired showcases the artist’s innovative reimagining of the world of graphic design in three dimensions. Bringing conventional design elements off of the page or screen, Taekyeom blends them with ceramics using a variety of materials. During this Gallery Gathering, we will discuss select works in this exhibition, examining Taekyeom’s unique approach and methods.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.
Gallery Gatherings are short, lightly-moderated conversations about selected artworks from ongoing exhibitions. Chairs and gallery stools are available for guests. This program is free, but preregistration is encouraged.

In January, Art Detectives will investigate different art forms and techniques. We’ll read a story about all the ways art can take shape, tour the Kirk Newman Art School Faculty Review to see amazing works by our talented teaching artists, and then make our own art inspired by what we’ve seen.

Art Detectives is a free program for children 4-8 years old (but all ages are welcome). Join us as we read a story, look at art, and make a project to take home. Caregivers must stay with their children at all times. This is a free program; preregistration is encouraged. Adults, remember to register your children!

Shake off the post-holiday blues and celebrate the new year with a dance lesson and dancing hosted by the Southwest Michigan Ballroom Dance Club. The dance will be held at the Kalamazoo Ballroom Academy at 2020 Fulford Street in Kalamazoo, MI 49001. At 2 p.m. Mary Hoedeman will teach the smooth Country Two-Step. Dance to current popular tunes and music hits from the past with DJ Bob Sievert From 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. All levels of dancers, beginners, couples, and singles are welcome. There is a $5 discount for newcomers! For additional information, please visit https://swmbd.com.

The Kirk Newman Art School Faculty Review is a much-anticipated biennial exhibition at the KIA, showcasing the considerable talents of Kirk Newman Art School faculty members who provide world-class instruction in a wide range of media. During this ArtBreak, KNAS Director Leslie Donaldson will offer remarks on this year’s show, which centers on the theme of process, before leading guests on a walkthrough of the exhibition. Please note that this ArtBreak will involve standing and walking. Gallery stools will be available.

Leslie Donaldson has served as Director of the Kirk Newman Art School since 2023, bringing to the role more than 20 years’ experience in varied arts management functions, including education, programming, marketing, fundraising, strategic planning, and entrepreneurship. She served as the inaugural CEO of Common Grounds Cooperative, a nonprofit real-estate cooperative in Traverse City. Her career also includes successful stints as the Director of Engagement for Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Executive Director for the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, and the Director of Arts Programs for the City of East Lansing. Donaldson holds an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Painting/Printmaking and a BFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University.

January 15, 11 am – 1 pm

Audience: Geared for Adults 50+, but all are welcome

Meet: Front desk inside the Visitor Center

Join Mike Ricco of Sea Michigan and hear about his journeys exploring the beautiful shorelines of Lake Michigan, or as Mike calls it, “Sea Michigan”!

Bring your lunch! We will eat together after the program. Part of the Silver Maples Series: NatureCenter.org/SilverMaples

Fee: Member $16, Non-Member $20 Please register.

While the weather outside is chilly, the KIA will be warm and welcoming. Join us for a cozy winter-themed family night. We’ll start with a guided tour of the permanent collection, searching for artworks that capture the spirit of the season. Then, create your own winter-inspired masterpiece.

If you are unable to join us right at 6pm, feel free to come when you can. Guests will be able to view the exhibition on their own until 8pm and art projects will be available until 7:30pm.

Image credit: Detail from: Hasui Kawase, Zojo-ji Temple in Shiba from the series of Twenty Views of Tokyo, 1925, woodblock print. Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Gift of Erik and Alice Jensen and Family, 2024.18.

The Greens of Winter Walk
Saturday, January 17 at 2 pm

Audience: All Ages
Meet: Visitor Center front desk

We might think of Winter as a season dominated by whites and browns, but our hardiest green photosynthetic life clings on all year round! Take a tour of the mosses and lichens of the woods and learn how these radically different organisms survive and thrive. This program has a flexible end time to accommodate for hiking time.

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; drop in program

Yoga & Forest Bathing
Sunday, January 18, 2-4 pm

Audience: Adults

Meet: Gallery in the visitor center

Reconnect with yourself and with nature by joining us for a mindful session of yoga and shinrin yoku, the art and practice of forest bathing. Yoga will be gentle and perfect for all experience levels, followed by a guided meditative walk led by an experienced shinrin yoku instructor. Bring a yoga mat and be ready to change into outdoor clothing for our walk.

Fee: Member $28, Non-Member $35. Please register.

Soprano Diane Penning and Pianist Henry Koperski bring you “The Great American Songbook”

Mother and son soprano Diane Penning and composer/musician Henry Koperski are both classically trained artists who enjoy sharing their love and excitement for the lyrics and melodies of the Great American Songbook which encompasses significant 20th century American standards, popular songs and Broadway repertoire. In addition, Henry will share original music from his newly released album “Spring Water.” Henry and Diane have respectively travelled the world performing and are excited to bring their shared collaboration closer to home. Penning as a symphony pops artist with over 30 orchestras nationwide and Koperski as pianist/accompanist for luminaries including Alan Cumming, Chita Rivera, Kristin Chenoweth, Bowen Yang and many others. Diane holds a BM in music from the University of Michigan and a MM in voice performance from Western Michigan University. Henry Koperski double majored in Jazz Saxophone Performance and Classical Bassoon Performance earning a Bachelor of music at Western Michigan University. For more on the artists, visit: www.dianepenningmusic.com and www.henrykoperski.com

Sunday Afternoon Live! concerts are free to the public, and include a family friendly reception where patrons can meet the artists and enjoy fellowship with each other.

The mission of Sunday Afternoon Live! is to enrich the cultural life of the greater Battle Creek Community and to continue the tradition of the First Congregational Church as a patron of artistic creativity and expression. We endeavor to do this by sponsoring a series of free concerts that present musical artistry that is exciting, beautiful, varied and enjoyable. We will underwrite the concerts by means of donors and sponsors in order to make the concerts available to the entire community.

For the past 10 years, we have enjoyed a partnership with the Michigan Humanities and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs for grant funding to help support the series. Due to recent funding cuts, this source of funding is not currently available, so we will be relying totally on the generosity of local business and patrons to keep this popular series free to the public. Your support is appreciated!
If you would like to support this series, you may go to our webpage to make a donation. FCCBC.org/giving Please leave a note to designate the donation to Sunday Afternoon Live! Thank you so much for your support!

Aspiring artist Louisa becomes enchanted by three figures nestled in the corner of a famous painting. Intrigued, she embarks on a cross-country journey to uncover their story. Twenty-five years earlier, in a coastal town, four teenagers–misfits with bruised pasts–bonded over summer days on an abandoned pier, forging fierce loyalty and creative escape. Their friendship inspired the painting, and its legacy touches Louisa’s life in unexpected and emotional ways. Please note that the author will not be in attendance for this event.