Community Calendar

"During this ArtBreak, Prof. Ginger Owen-Murakami will discuss one of the most influential documentary photographs ever created. Produced by Dorothea Lange during the Great Depression as part of Roy Stryker’s Farm Security Administration (FSA) photography project, Migrant Mother remains in the public domain of the United States Library of Congress. As one of the most widely reproduced images in American history, this photograph endures as a profound symbol of hardship, resilience, and collective memory, embodying the struggles and perseverance that shaped the American experience.

Ginger Owen-Murakami is a Professor of Photography at Western Michigan University's Gwen Frostic School of Art. She teaches a variety of classes in Fine Art Studies (History, Professional Practices, Traditional Darkroom, Digital & Alternative Processes). Owen-Murakami’s artwork derives imagery from narratives and themes of family history, race, gender, and culture. She has lectured, worked, and exhibited internationally."

"Meet internationally-renowned conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas! During this special program, Thomas will share reflections on his work, which revolves primarily around themes of perspective, identity, commodity, media, and culture. Thomas’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad and recognized with many prestigious awards and fellowships. He is the creator of such powerful public artworks as The Embrace (Boston, 2022), Unity (Brooklyn, 2019), and Love Over Rules (San Francisco, 2017). His collaborative projects include Question Bridge: Black Males, In Search Of The Truth (The Truth Booth), The Writing on the Wall, and For Freedoms.

Thomas holds a B.F.A. from New York University and an M.A./M.F.A. from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco. He has received honorary doctorates from the Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, Portland, ME.

Arrive early to view Thomas's Pledge (2018), Love Over Rules (Horizon Blue) (2020), and Community (2024), all on view in the For the People, By the People exhibition! Gallery hours for this exhibition will be extended until 6 pm, and admission is included with the cost of lecture attendance. Purchase early -- tickets for this highly-anticipated program are likely to sell quickly!

Ticket Prices:
KIA Members - $15
Non-members - $20
College students - $10"

In September, Art Detectives will read a story about the Statue of Liberty and what she represents. Then they will explore the exhibition For the People, By the People to see how artists share the stories of the American people. Special guest Katie Platte from the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center will join us and show participants how to create a special book, so they can tell their own story.

Harlem Rhapsody follows Jessie Redmon Fauset, the literary editor of The Crisis magazine, as she helps ignite the Harlem Renaissance while navigating a secret affair with W.E.B. Du Bois. As the first Black woman to hold this editorial position, Jessie wastes no time uplifting those who will become some of the greatest voices of this legendary artistic movement. Victoria Christopher Murrary explores ambition, love, race, and the sacrifices behind artistic legacy and cultural transformation.

"“Art is the inner voice of the people.” —Alain Locke

Join us for a discussion of one of the most vibrant and significant movements in American art history – the Harlem Renaissance. Three scholars will reflect on the period’s rich legacy in the fields of visual art, music, and theatre. Moderated by Bianca Washington, the panel will include Dr. Amy Mooney (Professor of Art History at Columbia College Chicago), Rev. Millard Southern (PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at WMU), and Dr. Quincy Thomas (Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Kalamazoo College).

"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. "

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."