Krasl Art Center

FAMILY NIGHT | Drawing Anime and Manga Style!
2024-11-13 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Detroit) | MI
Wednesday, November 13th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Free & Open to All Ages at the Benton Harbor Public Library
Bring the family to Family Night on Wednesday, November 13, from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at the Benton Harbor Public Library! Artist Jessica Hightower will guide participants through the basics of anime and manga drawing, from expressive characters to unique features and poses. This free, all-ages workshop is perfect for beginners and enthusiasts alike. All materials are included—come ready to get creative!

PREVIEW PARTY
2024-11-15 18:00 - 20:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
It all begins with a first look at the 2024 Community ⇄ Members’ Show. Meet the artists, explore the talent of our community, and celebrate with friends. Live music, cash bar, and ‘a taste of the community’ provided by local restaurants. FREE and open to the public.
Image: Artist Chandra Williams performs during the 2019 Community ⇄ Members’ Show.

GO BIG OR GO GNOME 2
2024-11-22 - 2024-11-23 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Save the date! Our competitive, social, and artistic fall fundraiser, Go Big or Go Gnome 2, will be held on November 22 – 23. Click here for more details.

WARM UP EVENT WITH LIGHT UP THE BLUFF
2024-12-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Kick off your holiday season at Krasl Art Center! Stop by during the Annual Light Up the Bluff event to enjoy hot chocolate, artists sketching Santa, and more!

FAMILY NIGHT | Winter Collage Making!
2024-12-11 17:00 - 18:30 | MI
Wednesday, December 11th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Free & Open to All Ages at the Benton Harbor Public Library
Bring the family to Family Night on Wednesday, December 11, from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at the Benton Harbor Public Library! Join us for a cozy evening of creativity as artist Jessica Hightower guides us in making beautiful winter-themed collages. All ages are welcome to explore their artistic side using a variety of materials to craft unique seasonal designs.

FALL FINALE & ANNUAL MEETING
2024-12-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Embark on an artistic journey at Krasl Art Center’s highly-anticipated Fall Finale & Annual Meeting! Hear from Krasl leaders and faculty. Following the brief presentations, immerse yourself in the creative world of the studio classrooms. From the breathtaking displays in The Galleries to the intimate drawing, painting, and ceramics studios, every corner of Krasl Art Center will come alive with student-made artwork from the fall semester.

FAMILY DAY | Winter Collage
2024-12-14 11:00 - 12:30 | MI
Saturday, December 14th, 11 am – 12:30 pm
FREE & Open to All Ages

Enjoy a morning of creativity as artist Jessica Hightower leads a fun, hands-on workshop to create winter-themed collages. Bring the whole family and explore your artistic side with a variety of materials to craft unique seasonal designs.
On the second Saturday of every month, Krasl Art Center has free artmaking activities for the whole family!
Come down to 707 Lake Boulevard from 11 am – 12:30 pm and create something special.

FAMILY NIGHT at Benton Harbor Public Library | Textured Painting Experiments!
2025-01-08 17:00 - 18:30 | MI
Wednesday, December 8th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Free & Open to All Ages at the Benton Harbor Public Library
On the second Wednesday of every month, KAC hosts free artmaking activities in the evening for the whole family at the Benton Harbor Public Library!

Projects have included DIY Button Making, Pumpkin Painting, Pinewood Racing, and more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come to 213 E. Wall St, Benton Harbor from 5 – 6:30 pm and create something special.

FAMILY DAY at Krasl Art Center | Textured Painting Experiments!
2025-01-11 11:00 - 12:30 | MI
Saturday, January 11th, 11 am – 12:30 pm
FREE & Open to All Ages

On the second Saturday of every month, Krasl Art Center has free artmaking activities for the whole family!

Projects have included DIY Bubble Wands, Rock Painting, Ski Slope Racing, and much more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come down to 707 Lake Boulevard from 11 am – 12:30 pm and create something special.

PIZZA WITH THE ARTISTS
2025-01-12 16:00 - 18:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Due to inclement weather, Pizza with the Artists has been RESCHEDULED for January 12, 2025, 4 – 6 pm.
Hear directly from the artists during this time-honored tour of the Community ⇄ Members’ Show. Enjoy pizza after the tour provided by Silver Beach Pizza. FREE & Open to the public.
Image: Artists present their work during the 2022 Pizza with the Artists.

PREVIEW PARTY: A BEAUTIFUL MESS
2025-01-31 18:00 - 20:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Free and open to the public.
It all begins on January 31, 6 – 8 pm, with a first look at A Beautiful Mess: Weavers & Knotters of the Vanguard. Kira Dominguez Hultgren will kick us off with opening remarks at 6:15 pm. Cash bar and lite bites will be provided.
A Beautiful Mess: Weavers & Knotters of the Vanguard was organized by Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.

ARTIST IN CONVERSATION + INTERACTIVE DEMO WITH KIRA DOMINGUEZ HULTGREN
2025-02-01 11:00 - 12:30 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Free & open to the public
Participating artist Kira Dominguez Hultgren joins KAC for a conversation with our local fiber community. Afterward, visitors have the opportunity to participate in an interactive backstrap loom demonstration. Dominguez Hultgren weaves with the material afterlife of a so-called multiracial family: Chicanx-Indigenous-Indian-Hollywood Hawaiian-Brown-Black. Questions about cultural appropriation and codeswitching, exoticism, and performing cultural misrecognitions occupy their practice. When not in the studio, Dominguez Hultgren teaches weaving as an assistant professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Fiber and Material Studies.

COFFEE WITH THE CURATOR
2025-02-06 12:00 - 13:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Tour the recently opened exhibition, A Beautiful Mess: Weavers & Knotters of the Vanguard, with Chief Curator Tami Fauver. Coffee with the Curator is a free, informal tour over the lunch hour at KAC. Sponsored by Forté Coffee. FREE & Open to the public
Image: Executive Director and Chief Curator Tami Fauver leads a conversation about the 2023 exhibition The Stop Motion Worlds of Joe Baughman during Coffee with the Curator.

CULTURE CLUB HAPPY HOUR: FOLLOW THE THREAD - SHEAR
2025-02-06 17:30 - 18:30 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Free & open to the public

Each month, guest artists walk us through a different step of the weaving process with live demos, from fleece to masterpiece. This month’s topic: Shear. Artist Vera Videnovich of Videnovich Farms joins KAC to share insights and hands-on conversation about the very beginning of the weaving process – wool!
Videnovich Farms produces seasonal farm products from their small family farm in southwest Michigan that includes over 150 field-grown vegetable varieties in the summer and wool products made from their sheep flock in the winter. The 25-acre farm was founded in 1962 by Vera’s father Bozin Videnovich who brought with him generations of farming techniques and experience from Eastern Serbia with a focus on growing peppers for the Chicago Serbian immigrant community. After his death in 1992 three of his five children continued running the farm.
Also an artist, Vera creates hand-spun yarn and knitwear produced from the wool of their small flock of sheep.

FAMILY DAY at Krasl Art Center | BLACK HISTORY MONTH - FREEDOM QUILTS
2025-02-08 11:00 - 12:30 | MI
Saturday, February 8th, 11 am – 12:30 pm
Free & Open to All Ages
Enslaved people of African descent used secret messages encoded into songs and sewn into quilts to safely traverse the Underground Railroad Network. Learn about the history of the designs used in these quilt squares by freedom seekers. We will make squares like Crossroads, Shoofly, and North Star by utilizing paper cutting and collage techniques.
On the second Saturday of every month, Krasl Art Center has free artmaking activities for the whole family!

Projects have included DIY Bubble Wands, Rock Painting, Ski Slope Racing, and much more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come down to 707 Lake Boulevard from 11 am – 12:30 pm and create something special.

FAMILY NIGHT at Benton Harbor Public Library | BLACK HISTORY MONTH - FREEDOM QUILTS
2025-02-12 17:00 - 18:30 | MI
Wednesday, February 12th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Free & Open to All Ages
at the Benton Harbor Public Library
Enslaved people of African descent used secret messages encoded into songs and sewn into quilts to safely traverse the Underground Railroad Network. Learn about the history of the designs used in these quilt squares by freedom seekers. We will make squares like Crossroads, Shoofly, and North Star by utilizing paper cutting and collage techniques.
On the second Wednesday of every month, KAC hosts free artmaking activities in the evening for the whole family at the Benton Harbor Public Library!

Projects have included DIY Button Making, Pumpkin Painting, Pinewood Racing, and more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come to 213 E. Wall St, Benton Harbor from 5 – 6:30 pm and create something special.

CULTURE CLUB HAPPY HOUR: FOLLOW THE THREAD - SPIN
2025-03-06 17:30 - 18:30 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Free & open to the public.
Each month, guest artists walk us through a different step of the weaving process with live demos, from fleece to masterpiece. This month’s topic: Spin
Image: dani lopez, tell me that love isn’t true (detail), 2019, handwoven cotton and hand-cut novelty fabrics, 88 x 36 x 3 inches

Richard Hunt Studio Center Spring Fundraiser Featuring Sankofa
2025-03-22 17:00 - 20:00 | Richard Hunt Studio Center, 258 Territorial Road, Benton Harbor, MI, 49022, United States
Join Us for an Inspiring Evening Celebrating
Art, Community, and Creativity

Event Highlights include:
Coordinator’s Tour: Explore the historic Richard Hunt Studio Center located at 258 Territorial Road in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Children’s Artwork Auction: Support young artists and their talents.
Artist Talk: Featuring Joy Bradley, sharing insights on her featured piece.
Live Music: Benton Harbor’s own Sankofa will be entertaining guests throughout the evening.
Light Bites & Beverages: Enjoy refreshments while mingling.
Get your tickets here.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/richard-hunt-studio-center-spring-fundraiser-featuring-sankofa-tickets-1262826521119?aff=oddtdtcreator

CULTURE CLUB HAPPY HOUR: FOLLOW THE THREAD - WEAVE
2025-04-03 17:30 - 18:30 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Free & open to the public
Each month, guest artists walk us through a different step of the weaving process with live demos, from fleece to masterpiece. This month’s topic: Weave
Image: Kirsten Hassenfeld, Millefleur (detail), 2019, salvaged textiles with mixed media, 78 inches diameter

FAMILY NIGHT at Benton Harbor Public Library | SHADOW BOX ILLUSTRATIONS
2025-04-09 17:00 - 18:30 | MI
Wednesday, April 9th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Free & Open to All Ages
at the Benton Harbor Public Library
Join Miss Jessica on Wednesday April 9th from 5 – 6:30pm
Experiment with paper and other mixed media materials to create a shadow box illustration of a dreamy landscape or cozy scene of your imagination. Inspired by the work of paper artist, Margaret Scrinkl.
On the second Wednesday of every month, KAC hosts free artmaking activities in the evening for the whole family at the Benton Harbor Public Library!

Projects have included DIY Button Making, Pumpkin Painting, Pinewood Racing, and more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come to 213 E. Wall St, Benton Harbor from 5 – 6:30 pm and create something special.

FAMILY DAY at Krasl Art Center | SHADOW BOX ILLUSTRATIONS
2025-04-12 11:00 - 12:30 | MI
Saturday, April 12th, 11 am – 12:30 pm
Free & Open to All Ages
Join Miss Jessica on Saturday, April 12th from 11 – 12:30pm at the Krasl Art Center
Experiment with paper and other mixed media materials to create a shadow box illustration of a dreamy landscape or cozy scene of your imagination. Inspired by the work of paper artist, Margaret Scrinkl.
On the second Saturday of every month, Krasl Art Center has free artmaking activities for the whole family!

Projects have included DIY Bubble Wands, Rock Painting, Ski Slope Racing, and much more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come down to 707 Lake Boulevard from 11 am – 12:30 pm and create something special.

Granor Farm Dinner supporting Youth Programs
2025-04-25 18:30 - 22:30 | Granor Farms, 3480 Warren Woods Road, Three Oaks, MI, 49128, United States
Granor Farm is fortunate to be rooted in a region supported by a variety of organizations devoted to improving the common good. Granor’s “Community Benefit Dinner” series connects diners with regional place-makers with Granor Farm as a philanthropic partner. The evening begins with a discussion around Krasl Art Center, followed by a multi-course meal showcasing ingredients grown by Granor and to the organization’s mission.
Join us for an evening in support of youth programs at Krasl Art Center. Krasl believes creative expression is vital to all of our lives, and actively fosters it with young people year-round through studio art classes, camps, drop-in family programs, and community partnerships.
Guest speakers: Nathan Margoni, Director of Education, and Tami Fauver, Executive Director & Chief Curator.

Artist Talk with Nathaniel Stern and Sasha Stiles
2025-04-26 15:00 - 16:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Join artists Nathaniel Stern and Sasha Stiles to delve into meaningful conversation about AI as it relates to art and life today.

Opening Party
2025-04-26 16:00 - 18:00 | MI
Continue the conversation and enjoy mini focus-talks with the artists and their
special guests in the galleries. Lite bites provided by the Bistro on the Boulevard.

Coffee with the Curator
2025-05-01 12:00 - 13:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Tour the recently opened exhibitions, Generation to Generation, with Chief Curator Tami Fauver. Coffee with the Curator is a free, informal tour over the lunch hour at KAC. Sponsored by Forté Coffee. FREE & Open to the public.

Chamber Business Hours and Commemorative Design
2025-05-08 17:00 - 19:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 8, 2025, from 5 – 7 pm, as Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber and Krasl Art Center host a Business After Hours event.
At 6 pm, Krasl Art Center will reveal the exclusive 2025 Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff commemorative design, which I’m excited to see as a break from my usual dives into the world of digital finance, like scouting the latest new bitcoin casino for investment trends. Attendees will be among the first to discover the 2025 Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff, presented by 1st Source Bank Wealth Advisory Services merchandise and the 2025 commemorative design.

FAMILY DAY at Krasl Art Center | May Flowers! Clay Pot Painting & Planting
2025-05-10 11:00 - 12:30 | MI
Saturday, May 10th, 11 am – 12:30 pm
Free & Open to All Ages
Join Miss Jessica on Saturday, May 10th from 11 – 12:30pm at the Krasl Art Center
Celebrate spring and new beginnings by decorating your own mini clay pot with colorful paints and designs! Once your pot is dry, you’ll fill it with soil and plant a seed to take home and nurture. This hands-on activity encourages creativity and introduces young artists to the joys of gardening.
On the second Saturday of every month, Krasl Art Center has free artmaking activities for the whole family!

Projects have included DIY Bubble Wands, Rock Painting, Ski Slope Racing, and much more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come down to 707 Lake Boulevard from 11 am – 12:30 pm and create something special.

FAMILY NIGHT at Benton Harbor Public Library | May Flowers! Clay Pot Painting
2025-05-14 17:00 - 18:30 | MI
Wednesday, May 14th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Free & Open to All Ages
at the Benton Harbor Public Library
Join Miss Jessica on Wednesday May 14th from 5 – 6:30pm
Celebrate spring and new beginnings by decorating your own mini clay pot with colorful paints and designs! Once your pot is dry, you’ll fill it with soil and plant a seed to take home and nurture. This hands-on activity encourages creativity and introduces young artists to the joys of gardening.
On the second Wednesday of every month, KAC hosts free artmaking activities in the evening for the whole family at the Benton Harbor Public Library!

Projects have included DIY Button Making, Pumpkin Painting, Pinewood Racing, and more! See what we have planned this month at krasl.org/events/featured-events/

Come to 213 E. Wall St, Benton Harbor from 5 – 6:30 pm and create something special.

PechaKucha Vol.33
2025-05-22 19:00 - 21:30 | The Inn at Harbor Shores, 800 Whitwam Dr, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Members of the community, friends, families, and all those in-between are all cordially invited to attend the PechaKucha 20×20 St. Joseph/Benton Harbor Volume 33 Event. The ticketed event takes place at The Inn at Harbor Shores on Thursday, May 22, 2025, from 7 – 9:30 PM. Doors open at 6:00 PM.
PechaKucha’s – meaning “chit chat” in Japanese – presentation format shows 20 images, each for 20 seconds. In other words, presenters get 400 seconds to tell their story, with visuals guiding the way. Many cities often lack spaces where creative people can share their work, so PechaKucha is about exposing the hidden creativity in a city. PechaKucha nights are organized by local passionate and enthusiastic people with backgrounds in many creative fields.
Doors open at 6:00 PM, with the first presenter beginning promptly at 7 PM. It is encouraged to arrive early and enjoy good company (and the cash bar!).
PechaKucha St. Joeseph/Benton Harbor has been bringing local creatives to center-stage for 10 years in 2025, and Volume 33 brings more creative stories! This is a special, ticketed event- make sure to get your tickets in advance so you don’t miss out!

Mental Health is Heath: Richard Hunt Studio Center
2025-05-28 | MI
FREE & Open to All
Join us for a powerful day of community, connection, and creative expression as we honor Mental Health Awareness Month with not one—but two impactful events designed to uplift and heal.
Session 1: Afternoon Social + Mental Health Breakdown Workshop
2-hour session: 12-2pm
Led by the incredible Nancy Mattner, this engaging and informative workshop will guide us through practical tools and conversations surrounding mental well-being. Come unwind, connect, and leave with more clarity and strength.
Session 2: Healing Hour Stories of the Mind & Heart
Evening Session: 6-8pm
Light refreshments will be served. We welcome poetry, spoken word, music, art, or any personal expression that reflects your mental health journey. Whether you’re sharing or simply holding space for others, your presence matters.
For questions or to sign up to share, contact: Vaughn Sims Hunt Studio Coordinator 269-308-0242.
