Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is a non-profit visual arts museum and school located in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States.

History

In 1924, members of the Kalamazoo Chapter of the American Federation of the Arts established the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts "to further the development of interest and education in and of regard and appreciation for the various arts."

In September 1961, a new million-dollar art center, the KIA’s current facility, opened to the public. Designed by the Chicago, Illinois firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the structure is based on the Mies van der Rohe International Style of architecture. It offers studio classrooms, a library, auditorium, exhibit areas, a sculpture garden and office space.

In 1997, the KIA began a $14.5-million expansion and renovation project, designed by Ann Beha and Associates. The project increased the size of the KIA from 45,000 to convert|72000|sqft|m2, and added a two-story lobby gallery, auditorium, new classrooms and galleries, a gallery shop, a new library and an interactive gallery for kids.

Dale Chihuly's Red, Orange and French Yellow, a colorful chandelier made up of 400 pieces of glass, became a permanent fixture in the lobby foyer. The renovated facility, with its total of ten galleries and convert|11000|sqft|m2 of exhibition space, opened to the public in September 1998.

Exhibitions

The KIA hosts 10-15 temporary exhibitions each year in its 10 galleries, from its recurring shows (West Michigan Area Show, High School Area Show, Young Artists of Kalamazoo County) to those on loan from other museums, galleries, corporations or private collections. Admission to most exhibitions and programs is free of charge.

Despite its status as a medium-sized museum in a small American city, the KIA has hosted a number of successful "blockbuster" (ticketed) exhibitions. In 2004, 47,000 visitors came to see Millet To Matisse: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century French Painting from Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, an exhibition of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings. In 2005, nearly 60,000 people came from all 50 states and 17 countries to see Chihuly in Kalamazoo, an exhibition of works by glass artist Dale Chihuly. In 2007, the KIA hosted Lorna Simpson, an exhibition of the work of this contemporary artist that has previously stopped at such venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York). In 2008, the KIA curated and hosted an exhibition celebrating the resurgence of American figurative painting: The Figure Revealed. The KIA is making plans for two large-scale, ticketed exhibitions in 2008-09: Spared from the Storm: Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art (November-February) and Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Times: American Modernism from the Lane Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (May-September).

In addition to exhibitions, the KIA offers lectures and educational events, outreach programs and a fine arts research library that is open to the public.

Permanent collection

The permanent collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts consists of more than 3,600 original works. Its primary emphasis is on 20th-century American art, with works by such artists as Ansel Adams, Mary Cassatt, Alexander Calder, Chuck Close, Helen Frankenthaler, Edward Hopper, Luis Jimenez, Käthe Kollwitz, Ed Paschke, Norman Rockwell, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Andy Warhol, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Andrew Wyeth. The collection also includes a number of 18th- and 19th-century American works, 20th-century European works, as well as African, Chinese, Japanese and Pre-Columbian and Oceanic works.

Kirk Newman Art School

The school has offered visual arts instruction to the community since 1931. Its goal is to nurture artistic creativity in the residents of West Michigan by providing affordable classes and workshops for people of all ages and skill levels in a range of media, including painting and drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewelry-making, weaving and fiber arts. Faculty members are practicing artists and educators. The school was renamed in 2006 to honor Kalamazoo artist and former school director Kirk Newman.

KIA Art Fair

The KIA Art Fair began in 1952 as the Clothesline Art Show, an opportunity for local and regional artists to sell their works. Held the first Saturday of June in nearby Bronson Park, the KIA Art Fair is now the second oldest continuously running art fair in the United States. Each year, thousands of visitors join 200 artists in Bronson Park to view and purchase paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, jewelry, ceramics, fiber ware, sculpture and more.

External links

* [http://www.kiarts.org/ KIA website] including [http://www.kiarts.org/museum/ museum] and [http://www.kiarts.org/school/ Kirk Newman Art School]
* [http://www.annbeha.com/ Ann Beha Architects]
* [http://www.kalamazooarts.com/ Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo]
* [http://www.kalamazoocity.org/portal/index.php/ City of Kalamazoo, Michigan]
* [http://www.central-city.net/ Downtown Kalamazoo, Inc.]
* [http://www.discoverkalamazoo.com/visitor_information/overview.htm Kalamazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau]
* [http://www.kazoochamber.com/ Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.som.com/ Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill]