Coverage of visual arts, performing arts, cultural events, and artistic entrepreneurs
Kalamazoo playwright Buddy Hannah was inspired by a friend's trip to the 1995 Million Man March in Washington D.C., an event that brought African American men together to empower them to improve their lives and communities. Hannah shares how that inspiration took hold and grew into "Two in a Million: Journey of a Lifetime."
To tempt tastebuds for Kalamazoo's upcoming Canadiana Festival and its World Champion Poutine Contest, Chef Channon Mondoux, festival organizer, and SW Second Wave Food Writer, shares her recipe for 'healthy' poutine, that French Canadian guilty pleasure of fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy.
Mandy Clearwaters, an art teacher at Winchell Elementary, had a vision to bring Inside Out, an international portrait project devised by French-artist JR, to Kalamazoo Public Schools. With the theme "We are Kalamazoo artists," over 1,000 black and white portraits line the inner sidewalks of Bronson Park as part of Kalamazoo Public School's All-district Art Fair Friday. Check out Fran Dwight's photo essay!
April is National Poetry Month and Kalamazoo has more than its fair share of homegrown poets – which suits this year's Kalamazoo Poetry Festival theme of "The Garden." In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the festival takes place April 13 to 15, featuring both local and visiting poets, including Kzoo's own Pulitzer Prize-wining poet Diane Suess, Kansas Poet Laureate Traci Brimhall (WMU graduate), Hala Ayhan, and Kaveh Akbar, among others.
Skot Welch, Julia Swenson and Carl Dunker are three designers who live and work in West Michigan. They share the ways they work to create a community where people belong.
Sarah Crookston, Mimi Ray and David Allan are all leaders in design. While they could work anywhere in the world, they discuss why they choose to live and work in West Michigan.
Nurses surveyed in 2021 said the most common reason they planned to leave their job was that work had negatively affected their health and well-being. The second most common reason was insufficient staffing. Here's why it's important to provide care for them and what some are doing to make sure they get it.
Three impressive West Michigan design leaders share their perspectives on the opportunities for design in our area. Tara McCrackin, Marjorie Simmons, and Frances Close are all inspired by innovation.
The world of design involves hard and soft skills, hands-on creativity and abstract vision. Here's how design is defined by the individuals who are doing the work in West Michigan.
A rural community in southwestern Michigan looks for a brighter future, tapping grants and other monies to revamp its downtown and add new amenities, including a beach, a pier and a skate park.
Our Sponsors
Our Media Partners
