Fact And Fiction With Todd Zimmerman Traveling Exhibition
September 11, 2023-June 3, 2024
Installed in schools for two weeks
Best for grades K-12
Spotlight Kalamazoo artist Todd Zimmerman (1963-2022) at your school using works both whimsical and realistic. Students will see works that explore his fantastical thought process, such as his designs for spacecraft or animals acting as people. At the same time, students will examine how such an imaginative artist portrayed people in a realistic manner. Often when painting a realistic figure, Zimmerman played with colors, painting people in shades of blues and reds or yellows and pinks, giving us a moment of surprise and wonder. Through paintings and prints, students will explore works created in their own community. MORE
A Bridge Between Two Worlds: Wu Jian’an
September 20-December 21, 2023
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Best for grades K-12
The works of Beijing-based artist Wu Jian’an are rooted in the traditional Chinese medium of paper cutting. Chinese paper cutting is a 1,500-year-old technique and is considered to be one of the most important forms of Chinese folk art. Wu Jian’an explores this traditional technique with contemporary designs, and helps keep this method alive in a fresh and exciting way. In addition to his use of traditional methods, he creates art using watercolors, ink, oil, and sculpture. Students will have the opportunity to explore these works, which present themselves like a puzzle. Through questions and close examinations, they will be able to solve the mysteries of his artworks. MORE
American Realism: Visions Of America, 1900-1950
January 24-April 12, 2024
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Best for grades K-12
This exhibition brings together works by American artists from the early 20th century who sought to define “American Art” and the American experience, especially at a time when cities were rapidly growing. Through paintings, drawings, prints, and photos, students will see how artists sought to explore and create an American style of creative expression. Students will see the works of well-known artists such as Edward Hopper, Alexander Calder, Hughie Lee-Smith, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Peggy Baxter, Victoria Marshall Litna, Reginald Marsh, and many others, including Michigan artists who also sought to capture the changing ways of living. MORE