The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts has been celebrating its 100th anniversary year, and they are doing it with one exciting exhibit after another. Dr. Miriam Thomas is the Associate Curator of Adult Programs at the KIA. She reveals details about the current exhibit, Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, running through August 18, but also a one-day special event on August 10 as an extension of the exhibit: Clearly Indigenous Artists' Exchange and Hands-On Exploration.
Dr. Thomas has been working at the KIA close to two years. “It’s such a great role,” she says. “I get to coordinate programs like our weekly Art Break programs, our monthly Artful Evenings, and then special programs as well. I get to work with incredible people and amazing artists and scholars.”
The current exhibition and event give broader and overdue recognition to a wide range of contemporary Native American and Indigenous, Pacific-Rim artists working in glass. The exhibit includes nearly 100 glassworks created by 29 Native American artists, four Pacific Rim artists from New Zealand and Australia, along with selections from leading glass artist Dale Chihuly.
“It’s an incredible exhibition,” Thomas says. “It was originally curated at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe by Dr. Letitia Chambers. It has been transitioned into a traveling exhibition curated by Dr. Chambers. It’s one of my favorite exhibitions that I’ve seen at the KIA, and there’s been a lot of competition.”
The exhibition runs through August 18, but on Saturday, August 10, an additional event, Clearly Indigenous Artists’ Exchange and Hands-On Exploration, takes viewers from the KIA to nearby Glass Art Kalamazoo for a live demonstration by Dan Friday and Carol Lujan, as well as a hands-on fused glass project led by GAK staff. Guests ages 8 and up are welcome to participate in the fused glass project. Attendance fees are $20 for KIA members, $25 for nonmembers for the exhibit, $20 for the hands-on event, but $30 for both for KIA members, $40 for nonmembers. For more information and registration, visit the KIA website.
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