Community Calendar

Outdoor Art Group
Looking to relax and unwind with some outdoor art? Stop by for an informal plein air painting and sketching group to sketch the beautiful landscapes of the nature center. We’ll hike from the visitor center together, and learn a little about our ecosystems as we capture them on canvas.

Please bring your own art supplies.

September 20, 2026- Emma Pitcher Prairie

November 15, 2026- Kalamazoo River Overlook

Time: 1:00 – 2:30PM

Meet: Front desk inside the Visitor Center. This is a drop-in program.

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; KNC Members free!

Audience: Adults

"In the late 1950s, Upjohn Pharmaceuticals partnered with the United States Information Agency to develop an exhibition on Kalamazoo that toured several major European cities. ""Kalamazoo...and how it grew!"" was designed by Will Burtin in conjunction with Jack Masey of the United States Information Agency, with the bill for the exhibition footed by Upjohn Pharmaceuticals. In this talk, we will trace the exhibition's development and scope, as well as discuss how the exhibition fit into the USIA's broader goals of deploying design in the promotion of democracy abroad.

Christine Young-Kyung Hahn is a lifelong Midwesterner, born in Detroit, raised in Lansing, and a professor of art history at Kalamazoo College since 2008. She is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, MN, and received her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. While rooted in the Midwest, her research questions have taken her around the world, digging through archives in Paris, New York, and Seoul. To support these endeavors, Dr. Hahn has worked on exhibitions for the Art Institute of Chicago, for the books division at the University of Chicago Press, and for higher education development at the University of Michigan Law School. Her work on modern Korean artists and exhibitions has been supported by the Fulbright and the National Endowment for the Humanities."

"During this talk, Dr. James Denison will examine John James Audubon’s multinational background, transatlantic audience, and the nationalist ambitions behind his celebrated publication, The Birds of America. While Audubon's book is now synonymous with naturalism in America, it was made with the intention of constructing particular ideas about place, identity, and nationhood in order to appeal to customers on both sides of the Atlantic. The result was a book as beautiful as it was expensive and evocative, yet also one that often cut corners, misrepresenting, fabricating, and plagiarizing in the name of commercial success.

Please note that this program will comprise a prerecorded lecture by Dr. Denison screened in the auditorium, followed by a lightly guided gallery exploration.

James Denison recently concluded his term as the Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History at Kalamazoo College, a joint position held since 2023. A native of Washington, D.C., he earned his Ph.D. in Art History at the University of Michigan, where he completed his dissertation on the Stieglitz Circle and racism in the interwar US. He has published scholarship in the journals Word & Image, Panorama, CAA. Reviews, and Art Journal. While at the KIA, he worked on multiple exhibitions and wrote for two catalogues: 101 Legendary Selections from the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Art, Music & Feminism in the 1950s. "

Grab your friends and join us for a night of glowing glass, handcrafted pumpkins, local beer and wine, great food, music, and plenty of fire—all in support of Glass Art Kalamazoo!

Hot Glass on Tap is the official opening of our annual Glass Pumpkin Patch. Be among the first to see this year’s signature glass pumpkins unveiled and shop a glowing patch filled with one-of-a-kind pumpkins handcrafted by GAK artists. You’ll also have a chance to meet the artists and experience our studios after hours.

The evening will also include the live auctions of the first glass pumpkin of our signature series, along with beer mugs created live by our artists throughout the night. Watch each mug take shape in the hot shop, then bid on it straight off the pipe. It’s a chance to take home a piece made right in front of you while helping support GAK’s programs.

Thank you to this year's sponsors: Zoetis, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Foster Glass, and Final Gravity Brewing.

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright’s series Invisible Empire foregrounds the tension between the pastoral beauty of the American South and the historical exploitation of Black lives and labor that stains the landscape. In her series The Real Story of the Superheroes, Dulce Pinzón centers immigrant workers whose everyday heroism takes the form of quiet sacrifice and courage in the face of often extreme labor conditions. During this Gallery Gathering, we will discuss two artworks from these series featured in For the People, By the People.

"Let’s find the biggest works in the museum. Join us for a playful walk through the galleries designed for our youngest visitors. Together, we’ll explore big, bold paintings through close looking, storytelling, and interactive activities.

Wonder Walks are for children 2-4 years old (but all are welcome) and is free with the cost of admission. Caregivers must stay with their children at all times. Preregistration is encouraged"

"Join the KIA for an evening celebrating family, culture, creativity, and community during Hispanic Heritage Month. Noche de Familia welcomes guests of all ages to gather through art experiences, cultural activities, storytelling, and opportunities to connect with neighbors and community organizations.
This year's event will place special emphasis on recognizing and honoring the contributions of farmworker individuals and families throughout Southwest Michigan. Through their labor, traditions, resilience, and community leadership, farmworkers have helped shape the region's history and continue to play a vital role in its future.
Visitors are invited to explore the galleries, participate in hands-on activities, engage with community partners, and celebrate the stories that connect generations and communities. By uplifting voices and experiences that are often overlooked."

"During this special program, three contemporary Indigenous artists from across the country will come together to discuss their artistic approaches, points of inspiration, and visions for the future. Speakers include Dakota Mace (Diné), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Kelly Church (Pottawatomi/Ottawa/Ojibwe). Mace’s work focuses on translating the language of Diné history and beliefs while pushing the viewer’s understanding of Diné culture through alternative photography techniques, weaving, beadwork, and papermaking. Photographer Cara Romero uses contemporary techniques to depict the modernity of Native peoples, illuminating Indigenous worldviews and aspects of supernaturalism in everyday life. Kelly Church is a black ash basket maker, a fiber artist, and a strong advocate for the survival of Native traditions through her work in educating the public about the endangered black ash tree.

Mace’s multimedia piece Tsin Bigaan (Branches) and Romero’s photographic print Arla Lucia are on view in the exhibition For the People, By the People: America at 250, and Church’s woven black ash piece Every Dawn is a New Day is on view in our permanent collection exhibition.

Galleries open at 11am, and admission is included with the price of program attendance.

Ticket Prices:
KIA Members - $10
Non-members - $15
College students - $5

Join us in October for an Art Detectives program centered around Resilience—A Sansei Sense of Legacy. This exhibition features the work of eight third-generation Asian American Artists whose work reflects on a time during World War II when Japanese American families were forced to leave their homes and live in internment camps. We'll read Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind, view the exhibition, and create our own postcards that can be sent to friends or family members.

"Join us for a Community Day focused on our special exhibition, Resilience—A Sansei Sense of Legacy. This show highlights artwork by eight Sansei (third-generation Japanese American) artists exploring the lasting effects of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

We invite the community to visit the exhibition and explore the stories shared in Resilience. Visitors will also be able to participate in a hands-on art activity, available between 11am-1:30pm, and tell their own stories through a storyboarding activity in the library. This event is free and open to all."