Please note: ArtBreaks are moving to Wednesdays in 2025. Join us for a screening of the film Black Ash Basketry: A Story of Cultural Resistance. A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute, Grand Rapids Community College, and the Goodwillie Environmental School, this film explores the role that black ash basketry has played in…
Rescheduled! The exhibition Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century invites visitors to view much-loved pieces from the KIA’s collection in fresh ways, often drawing unexpected connections between very different works of art. In keeping with this concept, educational programming throughout the run of the exhibition will offer guests opportunities to engage with the visual arts…
Drop in on Sundays between 1:30 - 2:30pm and have conversations with docents who can provide information and answer questions about the artwork in the KIA’s collection. Find the docents on the lower level of the museum’s galleries.
Take a closer look at two paintings featured in the Legendary Voices exhibition: Karl Knaths’ Wounded Tree and Harold David Landes’ Pink Tree. How do these artists approach similar subject matter in distinctive ways? Gallery stools will be available.
There are so many things to find in the art on the walls. Let’s take a walk through the galleries and see what we can spy with our little eyes.
by Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey Let’s learn about landscapes! We’ll begin with a book to see how the illustrator expresses them, visit the galleries to observe how artists portray them, and finally, you’ll create one of your own to take home.
During this virtual ArtBreak, learn about visual artist Leslie Barlow, whose painting Atquezali, At Indigenous Roots is featured in the ongoing KIA exhibition Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century. Barlow’s colorful, life-size oil paintings serve as both monuments to community members and explorations into the ways in which race entangles the intimate spheres of…
Meet artist Kelly Church, an Ottawa/Pottawatomi black ash basket maker, fiber artist, educator, activist, and culture keeper. A member of the Gun Lake Band in Michigan and descendent of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Ojibwe, she comes from an unbroken line of black ash basket makers and from the largest black ash weaving…
by Shonda Buchanan This powerful, deeply personal narrative explores Buchanan’s complex identity. She reflects on the trauma, resilience, and strength passed down through generations, as well as the tensions and misunderstandings she encountered due to her mixed heritage. Throughout, she weaves in stories of her ancestors, shedding light on the hidden and painful history of…
Coffee preceding 10:30 lecture Hear Richard Phillips’ compelling story. Mr. Phillips started painting while wrongfully incarcerated for 46 years, creating over 400 paintings. “Art is what I did to stay sane...” This program, rescheduled from September 18, is free.
In anticipation of Wellspring’s annual RADFest, hear from this year’s RADicle Resident! Puerto Rican movement artist Lourdes del Mar Santiago Lebrón will discuss their new work, Tejer, inspired by the process of weaving. They observe, “Tejido (weaving) relies on pattern making and repetition; the practice, much like dance, requires patience, consistency, and practice. The ephemerality…
by Hervé Tullet March is all about movement! Join us as we engage our hands with a story and a colorful painting project, followed by a fun movement session led by RADFest dancers. We will be using finger paints for the art project, so it could get messy. Stay with us for more art and…
