Krasl Art Center

CULTURE CLUB + TEEN ARTS COUNCIL: CALLIGRAPHY AS DRAWING
2024-10-03 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Detroit) | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Let’s talk about: language as form. Join us for a special Culture Club event featuring the talented mother-daughter duo, Christine Yen and Gwen Yen Chiu. They will share their unique approaches to Chinese calligraphy and guide you through a hands-on art project highlighting the expressive power of line. Participants will practice traditional Chinese calligraphy techniques and explore contemporary styles that blur the boundaries between language and image.
As part of this monthly club, artists share enriching media connected to the art on view: a book they studied, a movie that inspired them, a playlist that got them through the project – anything goes! Each month, we’ll meet to discuss. In partnership with KAC’s Teen Arts Council, this session is open to ages 13+.
FREE: REGISTRATION REQUIRED (WS.2A); Ages 13+
Artwork: Gwen Yen Chiu. 飛 (To Fly), 2024. Chinese ink on rice paper

GEORGE KRASL MEMORIAL CONCERT
2024-10-06 14:00 - 15:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Language and form come alive for an afternoon of music and dance in the galleries. For the annual George Krasl Memorial Concert, cellist Jordan Hamilton collaborates with CPR Dance to bring an original score inspired by the work of Gwen Yen Chiu. Enjoy a live performance, light brunch fare, and cash bar. This event is free, but registration is required. Click here to register: https://canvas.krasl.org/classes/1604

CULTURE CLUB + TEEN ARTS COUNCIL: CALLIGRAPHY AS SCULPTURE
2024-11-07 18:00 - 21:00 | Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, United States
Let’s keep talking about language as form! Part two of a two-part workshop, this special Culture Club event gives ‘Calligraphy as Drawing’ participants the opportunity to transform their 2-dimensional ink drawings and calligraphy into 3-dimensional steel sculptures with Gwen Yen Chiu. Working with precut sheet metal, students will bend and make simple welds to modify their designs into dynamic linear works of art.
As part of this monthly club, artists share enriching media connected to the art on view: a book they studied, a movie that inspired them, a playlist that got them through the project – anything goes! Each month, we’ll meet to discuss. In partnership with KAC’s Teen Arts Council, this session is open to ages 13+.
FREE: Registration Required (WS.2B); Ages 13+
Artwork: Gwen Yen Chiu. Ink Stroke No.1, 2023. Aluminum.

FAMILY DAY | Drawing Anime and Manga Style!
2024-11-09 11:00 - 12:30 | MI
Saturday, November 9th, 11 am – 12:30 pm
FREE & Open to All Ages

Join us for a fun, hands-on session drawing in anime and manga styles! Led by artist and educator Jessica Hightower. Come explore character creation, expressive features, and dynamic poses. All materials are provided, so bring your creativity and enjoy an inspiring family art experience!
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 | Drawing Anime and Manga Style!
2024-11-13 17:00 - 18:30 | 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.
