Nancy Waldoch, the new advancement liaison at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, came to her new job at the best possible time. 2024 is the year the KIA celebrates a century of bringing visual arts to the greater Kalamazoo community. Waldoch talks about kick-off events in February and March for a year of artistic adventure.
“Back in July 1924, a group of individuals with a lot of foresight and a love of the arts started an incredible journey in Kalamazoo towards arts appreciation, accumulation, preservation, and access,” Waldoch says. “We at the KIA are so honored to preserve the mission that they started, which was to create and cultivate an appreciation for the visual arts in Western Michigan.”
Waldoch came to Kalamazoo recently to take her new position. “My husband is a Michigander, and as I’ve come to learn, no matter the absence, Michiganders seem to come back. So, we’ve made this transition to Kalamazoo. My husband is originally from Saginaw and has family in all four corners of the state. Kalamazoo felt like the right fit for us, both of us coming from a nonprofit background, so this felt like a really generous, robust, artistic place that we could find our place in.”
The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts’ “heART pARTy” is a playful community celebration that will kick-off KIA’s centennial year. All are invited for dancing, desserts, a KIA-through-the-decades costume contest, and a champagne toast to celebrate the first century and look forward to the next 100 years of the KIA. The event takes place Friday, February 16, from 7 to 10 p.m.
“We’re playing off the proximity to Valentine’s Day,” Waldoch says. “It will begin a whole slew of centennial celebration events. [For the costume contest,] guests choose a decade from the 1920’s to today, and there will be prizes for best dressed. It’s really to come out and celebrate and begin this joyful time of having the community see themselves reflected by the KIA. It’s a send-off party to all that’s to come.”
The ticketed fundraising event, centered on LOVE for the KIA, the Arts, and the Community, is family friendly. Fifty-dollar advanced-purchase ticket prices ($75 at the door) include desserts from local vendors, dancing, a photo booth, entrance in the KIA-through-the-decades costume contest, and a champagne toast. The opportunity to buy a “Sweetheart Gift Box” filled with KIA merchandise and love-centered do-dads and what-nots for your sweetheart(s) is available for an additional $25.
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