Art Beat

It's hard to miss the bright and colorful art of Ellen Nelson. It’s big. So, you’ve probably seen her murals in and on the outside of buildings throughout Kalamazoo.

What's it like to be an identical twin, so close that you share almost every thought and emotion? That’s the subject of Michigan native Sharon Harrigan’s debut novel, Half (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020).

For a young artist, Ellen VanderMyde has acquired an impressive list of experiences.

She is the director of the Kirk Newman Art School at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. But Denise Lisiecki did not start her career in the arts.

When associate professor Chris Ludwa was asked to teach music to an empty classroom at Kalamazoo College because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he blinked once — and then got creative.