Community Calendar

Embark on a Japanese-inspired Art Detectives adventure! We’ll read the story of Wabi Sabi, a curious little cat in Japan on a quest to discover the meaning of her name. Then, we’ll explore beautiful wood-fired ceramic pots before creating our own multimedia masterpiece.

Stick around for Community Day at the KIA! Watch pottery demos in the school commons and take part in a kurinuki cup workshop in the Kirk Newman Art School.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.
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!

Join us for an exploration of clay during our free September Community Day. Stop by the Meader Fine Arts Library for an easy drop-in art project. You can also take part in building and decorating a community pot that will be fired in the KIA’s anagama wood kiln.

If you would like to deepen your exploration of clay, sign up for a kurinuki cup workshop and carve your own cup using this traditional Japanese technique—no clay experience needed!

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.

Monarch Tagging with KNC’s Michigan Butterfly Network
Sunday, July 20, 1-3 pm
Saturday, August 23, 1-3 pm
Saturday, September 13, 1-3 pm

Join KNC staff this summer for guided butterfly walks around the Emma Pitcher Prairie. Participants will have the opportunity to search for butterflies, observe them up close, and learn more about what makes each species unique. This will be a great opportunity to see different butterfly species become active as the summer season progresses and as different food and nectar sources become available.

Fee: $7/Member, $10/Non-Member. Registration required.
Audience: All Ages (children must have an adult in attendance)
Meet: KNC Camp parking lot

Imani Perry explores the deep cultural and emotional ties between the history of Black people and the color blue. From indigo cloths traded during slavery to blues music’s blend of sorrow and resilience, Perry weaves personal narrative, history, and art into a powerful meditation on race. Drawing on symbols like blue skies, water, and flowers, she crafts a poignant, original examination of Black identity that captures both the pain and beauty of the human experience.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.
All book discussions are free, open to the public, and take place in-person at the Meader Fine Arts Library. Participants do not need to have read the book, but it will help facilitate the overall discussion. Preregistration is encouraged.

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.

Inspired by the Ink Rhapsody exhibition and want to try your hand at Chinese ink painting? Join us for a workshop led by local artist Julia Wang, a fourth-generation disciple of the Lingnan School! Create your own ink painting while learning more about this expressive art form and the many different ways in which influential Chinese artists have used ink to convey meaning throughout history. This workshop is free to attend, but seats are limited – preregistration is highly encouraged! No prior experience is necessary, and all supplies will be provided.

Want to learn more about Chinese ink painting? Don’t miss Wang’s ArtBreak on the Lingnan School on August 27!

Art and engineering come together to create adorable artsy robots! Drop by the library to make your own creation, then switch on the motor and watch the magic happen! Robots swirl and dance around, creating colorful patterns. Be inspired by the amazing patterns and colors in the exhibition Leo Villareal: Interstellar! Please note that supplies will be provided, but motors and battery packs will be available only to the first 15 participants.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.

Claude Debussy, a friend of Monet, wanted to be a painter. Instead, he used music to create evocative, beautiful pictures. His contemporary Maurice Ravel turned the miraculous seascapes of Impressionist painters into sparkling piano pieces. In Vienna, Arnold Schoenberg, also a serious painter, wrote music that pushed traditional boundaries to their limit. In his opera Wozzeck, Alban Berg created a character that embodies Expressionism. Intimately connected to the cultural currents around them, these groundbreaking composers turned Impressionism and Expressionism into sound. During this ArtBreak, explore these key movements in visual art and music with Dr. Zaide Pixley.

Zaide Pixley holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Michigan. As a member of the faculty at Kalamazoo College, she taught a wide range of courses, from music theory and history to rock and roll. She is President of the Board of Trustees of the Gilmore Piano Festival and the author (with Jane Rooks Ross) of 100 Years of Great Music, celebrating the centenary of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Pixley is deeply interested in how music reflects, responds to, and shapes its cultural and social context, as well as in the beauty and power of the music itself.

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.