Community Calendar

Come to the library and express yourself through collage with a sampling of washi paper, a traditional Japanese handmade paper. Some washi paper and tape will be provided to incorporate into your pieces. Be inspired by the exhibition on view, Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper. All supplies will be provided.

Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper was organized by Meher McArthur and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC

International Arts & Artists

Join us for a paper-inspired Community Day! Explore Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper. Washi, which translates to “Japanese paper,” is the main medium of this exhibition, which features two-dimensional works, sculptures, and installations by nine Japanese artists. After viewing the exhibition, get creative with members from the WMU Soga Japan Center who will guide you through origami folding and Japanese calligraphy. You can also join the Collage Crew Kzoo in the library for a collage-making session.

Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper was organized by Meher McArthur and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC

In February 1959, the front page of the Kalamazoo Gazette announced, “The city is to have a new art center,” with costs of construction paid by Mr. and Mrs. Donald S. Gilmore. In addition to their extraordinary philanthropy, the Gilmores were KIA board members, art collectors, and skilled artists. Mrs. Gilmore’s bequest to the KIA following her death in 1990 was 66 masterpieces from her personal collection, including works by Degas, Renoir, Rembrandt, Cassatt, and Matisse. During this ArtBreak, Dr. Jim Carter will explore the life of Genevieve Upjohn Gilmore and her final gift to the city she loved.

Jim Carter is a retired physician who had a clinical practice of Internal Medicine in Kalamazoo for 36 years. He received his M.D. from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and his Internal Medicine training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He has been involved with the KIA for over four decades as a photography student, board member, board president, and docent. As docent, he has led numerous tours for KIA visitors and presented a number of talks on a wide range of topics. His major area of interest is the intersection of art with medicine. Most recently, he wrote a comprehensive history of KIA for its centennial celebration.

All hybrid events will be livestreamed to our YouTube page and can be found under the “Live” tab. Recordings of select past events are available on YouTube as well.

Enjoy free admission and extended hours until 8pm on Thursdays. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and the Efroymson Family Fund.

During this talk, Reginald Dwayne Betts will explore Felon: An American Washi Tale, a solo show that confronts the weight and legitimacy of the word “felon” through poetry, visual art, and performance. Drawing from his own story—sent to prison at 16, discovering poetry behind bars—Betts will offer an immersive meditation on incarceration, identity, and the power of art to reshape the narrative of who we are and who we might become.

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, lawyer, and the Founder and CEO of Freedom Reads, an initiative to radically transform access to literature in prisons. The author of a memoir and five collections of poetry, Betts is a MacArthur Fellow and has been awarded fellowships from Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, the National Endowment for the Arts, Emerson Collective, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School. Betts founded Freedom Reads in 2020 with a grant from the Mellon Foundation. To date, the organization has opened more than 500 Freedom Libraries in 50 adult and youth prisons across 13 states. These libraries provide a locus where conversation and community can begin inside and outside of prison walls, supporting the efforts of incarcerated individuals to imagine new possibilities for their lives.

This program is made possible through the generous support of our community partners: Western Michigan University, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, the Department of English at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Kalamazoo Defender, and the Kalamazoo Bar Association.

For more information about this event and the suite of programs with Reginald Dwayne Betts, please visit kiarts.org/betts.

Escape the November chill and warm up with a sampling of Japanese sake! During this special event, Keiko Nakajima and Jingran Wang will offer a brief presentation on the history and cultural significance of sake in Japan, followed by a guided tasting of a variety of sakes. Light hors d’oeuvres will be provided, and ticket price includes gallery admission. Arrive early or stay after to explore Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper before our galleries close at 5 pm. Seating is limited, and preregistration is required. Guests must be 21 or over and must present ID upon arrival.

Did you know that Michigan has a sister state 6526 miles away in Japan? Desiring to establish lasting friendly relations, the formal Sister State Agreement between the State of Michigan and Japan’s Shiga Prefecture was signed in 1968. Both Michigan and Shiga have benefited culturally, economically, and educationally from this program.

Keiko Nakajima is the current visiting official from Shiga Prefecture. One of her goals is to help foster the sister-state relationship between Michigan and Shiga, and part of her mission is to introduce delicious local sake, tea, and traditional pottery from Shiga. Jingran Wang is the former president of the Michigan-Shiga Sister-State Board, and he also serves as the secretary of the Friends of Asian Arts and Cultures auxiliary at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Cost: $50 for KIA members, $55 for non-members

Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper was organized by Meher McArthur and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC

Enjoy free admission and extended hours until 8pm on Thursdays. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and the Efroymson Family Fund.

Enjoy free admission and extended hours until 8pm on Thursdays. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and the Efroymson Family Fund.

Enjoy free admission and extended hours until 8pm on Thursdays. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and the Efroymson Family Fund.

Enjoy free admission and extended hours until 8pm on Thursdays. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and the Efroymson Family Fund.