kalamazoo institute of arts

Amazing and astounding is this exhibit. I very rarely exclaim "Wow!" at exhibits, but I did over and over for this one.

I love exploring the area I live in and the first time I went to the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts I was shocked and amazed. What an amazingly, wonderful find so close to home. I have taken both family and friends here and they too have been impressed with all of the art collections that are there. An absolute must place to go if you are visiting the Kalamazoo area or live here.

easy to find and the art was of very good quality- they had a visiting show using wire mesh screening that was fantastic and unlike anything I've seen.

KIA is located right in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo. The museum has a wonderful collection and is small enough that you can enjoy it and not feel overwhelmed by it. There are always special events and temporary exhibits to see, so it is worth return visits. Last time I was there they held a hand-made jewelry and craft show.

Great place to see an exhibit. Lots of interesting themes and exhibits come to the KIA. Be sure to check with the desk or the local paper as to what is currently showing. Lots of hard work goes into what will be shown and the museum staff is very educated about each exhibit. This is also a terrific place to have a function, fundraiser, wedding reception, gala or ball. The KIA also offers art classes on numerous subjects for the young and young at heart. The gift shop is wonderful and it is a great place to find unique gifts. Definitely worth a trip to check this place out.

I've done art museums around the world from the largest to the smallest and had an excellent time at this one. One special exhibit, "A Lasting Legacy," celebrated its 90th anniversary with a selection of works from the permanent collection that included many famous names, mostly in American art. The commentary explained that the curators often bought works of artists and movements before they become famous and out of the price range of smaller museums. A second special exhibit, "Double Take," had an artist from the Kalamazoo area create a new work inspired by one already in the collections. As could be expected, I appreciated some more than others; but overall found my time well spent. The permanent collection is also well worth a visit even if someone doesn't find the special exhibits appealing. The overall quality of the art is exceptional for a city this size.

This is a small museum with a few good things in the permanent collection. The real fun is their temporary exhibits. I've seen so much fun stuff here. It's definitely worth a visit. I go back every time I am in Kalamazoo.

We saw the Featured Tiffany exhibit as well as a very small art exhibit from China and Japan and wandered the other exhibits halls. The institute provides great information along with their exhibits and we thoroughly enjoyed walking through the galleries.

so many terrific exhibits....easy to walk though...Really enjoyed the gift shop...so many really unique gifts...found something for everyone.I've seen the Chuhuli exhibit before at a different galley but this was just as well planned and organized.

It's right next to the B&B at which we stayed AND the Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit was going on and it was wonderful. The chihuly hanging in the foyer is AMAZING!!!!!!

Great exhibits from glasswork to textiles to mixed media. There is something on display to appeal to all tastes of art. Really glad my friend took me here.

We loved the extensive display of American art and the Tiffany exhibit. This is a nice medium-sized museum with friendly people to help you. Highly recommended.

The Kzoo Institute of Art is a small art space but they always use it effectively. It is a pleasure to have space around objects and floor space to avoid bumping into someone when looking at art. This was true for the bamboo exhibit last year and applies to the current Tiffany lamp exhibit that I saw with a few friends. There are often interesting traveling exhibits at this museum but their growing permanent collection always surprises me. Please take time to visit the art institute while downtown...free parking is available across the street.

and that's how you welcome art lovers!!! A nice place to enjoy the many offerings, they change out exhibits regularly so you never know what will interest you on this visit...or your next one!!

It's about a six hour drive from Ann Arbor to Chicago. Ann Arbor is more or less Exit 172 on I-94 in Michigan, while the Kalamazoo Institute of Art is best reached off Exit 76. Four miles or so north (on the left) on something called Westnedge Avenue is the KIA, a Fifties or Sixties style building which in another life might have been a school. Actually the sign out front says it includes a school so it all makes sense.It was one of those public service announcements on Michigan Public Radio which had drawn me here, en route to Chicago. For the next month or so, KIA is hosting an exhibition of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany.Several of the lamps in my small apartment are in the Tiffany style (two I think bought by mail from the Chicago Arts Institute) and I have to thank my ex wife for choosing the Stickley furniture in common rooms. So I suppose this all makes me a prime prospect for the Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit.Included in the exhibit are lamps, decorative glass, vases and pottery, and representative tile pieces. It was the lamps and glasswork that I had gone to see, and I was not disappointed. Easy enough to say 'Tiffany style lamps', but the quality of what is displayed is so obviously superior that it may be a disappointment going back soon to my own.The tile samples to me were unimpressive, as if they had been scavenged from a construction site. Which may well be true. Everything else, however, was a marvel.I have been (a number of years ago) to the workshop off Route 10 in New Jersey that the Stickley brothers used as a working residence. No question, the furnishings there are in Arts and Crafts mode, seemingly comfortable and attractive. Yet nothing in the New Jersey museum screams 'genius' or 'magnificent' in the way that Tiffany's work shown in Kalamazoo does.I almost didn't go downstairs to see the jewelry. Which would have been a mistake, as the creativity and artivity evident in the glassworks is in evidence downstairs as well. Imagine a cowl style necklace made to resemble an assemblage of grape vines, each leaf in detail as if original, and each grape made from a semi precious stone. Of a quality befitting either royalty or -- in this case -- a museum exhibit.Worth the trip if exhibition travels near you.