West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Kinzie Corridor, Humboldt Park

West Town

Wisconsin

IL • MI • IN

West Loop, Fulton Market, East Garfield Park

West Loop and West Side

Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyMDcxOTM2NjMsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiJiODA1ZjgyMzJkOTJmODAxIn0" target="_blank">Sarah Smelser: Sandia</a>Sandia&nbsp;is&nbsp;an ongoing series of monotypes begun in 2023. For Smelser, contemplation of the situational experience of being in&nbsp;a specific physical space is central, and to this end she seeks out impactful landscapes. Her daily ritual of walking becomes a method of attuning to the shifting qualities of light, smell, sound, and the subtle rhythms of a place; the unpacking of these sensory perceptions into visual form is the basis of her practice.Though the works in the "Sandia" series were born of a particular place, they do not attempt to describe it. Instead, the visual and physical experience of place—its memories, impressions, and contrasts to familiarity—feeds Smelser’s abstract sensibility. Fifteen works from the series are shown in this collection.The "Sandia" prints emerged from the artist’s lifelong love of the high desert environments of the American Southwest and, more specifically, from several weeks she spent at an artist residency in Albuquerque, NM, in 2022. Albuquerque sits on land that slopes from the Sandia Mountains down to the Rio Grande. The Sandias—Spanish for watermelon—were named for their warm pink-red color at sunset. The city presses up against the mountains, and harsh desert conditions permeate the urban environment. The intersection of the urban and natural landscapes became a particular focus for Smelser during her daily plantigrade perambulations.

Sarah Smelser: Sandia (online exhibition)

The KIA Arts Fair Returns for Milestone 75th Year! The event will take place on June 5 &amp; 6, 2026, with timings on Friday from 3–8pm and on Saturday from 9am–5pm. The KIA Arts Fair in Bronson Park will feature nearly 150 fine artists in 12 distinct mediums presenting their unique works of fine art to collect, wear, and use. Throughout Friday and Saturday, attendees can enjoy strolling, shopping, live music, kids’ activities, food truck cuisine, artist demonstrations led by the Kirk Newman Art School, and free gallery admissions at the KIA. The fair will showcase a wide selection of fine artists working in various mediums including Jewelry, Precious &amp; Non-Precious, Photography, Digital Media, Drawing, Pastels &amp; Prints, 2D &amp; 3D Mixed Media, Metal, Sculpture, Fiber, Leather, Ceramics, Painting, Wood, Glass &amp; more. Michelle Hargrave, Executive Director of the KIA, states that the 75th KIA Arts Fair is both a celebration of history and a reflection of the future, emphasizing the role of arts in bringing people together and fostering creativity. The KIA is proud to be part of JumpstART Summer weekend featuring the KIA Arts Fair, Art on the Mall, the Do Dah Parade, and Kalamazoo Pride. The event promises an unforgettable celebration of creativity, community, and the power of the arts. For more information, sponsorship, or volunteering opportunities, visit https://www.kiarts.org/arts-fair/.

75th Annual Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks is a groundbreaking new exhibition featuring nearly 60 futuristic footwear designs pushing the boundaries of what footwear can be. Exhibiting an incredible mix of fashion, design, gaming, new media, architecture, and material arts as well as sustainable and collaborative practices, the exhibition showcases work by designers as diverse as Rem D. Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, innovators Mr. Bailey and Salehe Bembury, as well as designs made in collaboration with fashion icons Rick Owens, Stella McCartney, and Yohji Yamamoto, and top gaming and innovation companies such as PlayStation, Gravity Sketch, and more.Future Now features sections exploring Innovation, Sustainability, Transformative, and Virtual shoes. Exhibition highlights include the self-lacing Nike MAG (first conceived for the movie Back to the Future Part II), digitally designed and 3D-printed shoes, sneakers made from mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics, virtual footwear, and more.“The future is always being shaped by the present. The exhibition includes many incredible and innovative new footwear designs that are promising to transform what we will wear tomorrow. From sneakers created to address issues related to sustainability and inclusion to shoes that blur the line between the real world and the metaverse, this exhibition explores how forward-looking creators are helping us step into the future.”—Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator, Bata Shoe Museum

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks

With origins dating from 1875, the art collection at the University of Notre Dame is one of the oldest and most esteemed academic collections in the United States. To&nbsp;celebrate the 150th anniversary of the collection,&nbsp;the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art is hosting a major exhibition that highlights many of the recent gifts it has received to commemorate the anniversary.&nbsp;The gifts range from single works of art to entire collections. Virtually every part of the permanent collection has benefited from the generosity of devoted alumni, supporters, and friends from across the country and worldwide. Iconic paintings from Thomas Gainsborough to John Singer Sargent, Georges Rouault to Julie Mehretu are included, as are prints and drawings ranging from Martin Schongauer to Pablo Picasso, among many others. Works from across the Indigenous Americas are represented by Veracruz sculptures and Cuzco altarpieces, as well as recent work by Diego Romero and Jaime Okuma. Photographs by such canonical figures as Andreas Gursky, and Marilyn Minter will also be exhibited.&nbsp; This monumental exhibition, on view from February 17 to June 14, 2026, will be presented in the temporary exhibition galleries and sited in select permanent collection spaces across the Museum and in the Charles B. Hayes Family Sculpture Park.&nbsp;Bridging Time and Place&nbsp;is a highlight of a sesquicentennial celebration of exhibitions and events that will run from August&nbsp;2025 through&nbsp;December 2026.&nbsp; The Exhibition and Sesquicentennial Celebration are made possible by the Sesquicentennial Fund and The Friends of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.&nbsp;Additional support comes from the Marilynn and James W. Alsdorf Endowment, the Ashbaugh Endowment, the Alice Tully Endowment, and the Susan and Justin Driscoll Endowment.&nbsp; Image: Hippolyte Petijean (French, 1854–1929)Notre Dame, 1895Oil on canvas21 3/4 x 28 in. (55.25 x 71.12 cm)Bequest of Ernestine Morris Carmichael Raclin2024.008.025

Bridging Time and Place: The 150th Anniversary of the University of Notre Dame Art Museum

From Cobalt to Indigo: The Power of Blue in East Asia&nbsp;is an exploration of one of the most enduring and influential colors in global art history. Spanning centuries of Chinese and Japanese creativity, the exhibition traces how the color blue—once among the rarest and most prized pigments—shaped artistic innovation, cultural exchange, and aesthetic identity across East Asia.From the luminous depths of cobalt-painted porcelain to the brilliance of carved lapis lazuli and the bold Prussian blue of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, this exhibition brings together works that illuminate the remarkable journey of blue across materials and artistic traditions. From Cobalt to Indigo will explore symbolism, craftsmanship, technological advancements, and cross-cultural influences. It showcases blue as both a material and an evolving metaphor. This exhibition invites audiences to see a familiar color anew and to experience the profound beauty and cultural resonance of blue in East Asian art.<a href="https://www.kiarts.org/events/tag/cobalt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to see all events in connection with this exhibition</a>.

From Cobalt to Indigo: The Power of Blue in East Asia

Krasl Art Center presents&nbsp;Sculpture in the Direct Method, a group exhibition featuring Ajene Cetawayo Williams, Isaac Duncan III, Albert LaVergne, and Richard Hunt. On view from May 16 through August 9, 2026, the exhibition brings together two generations of artists to explore how material, form, and process shape contemporary and modern Black sculpture.Spanning generations of artistic practice,&nbsp;Sculpture in the Direct Methodexplores how artists engage abstraction, representation, and material process as interconnected and evolving strategies. The featured artists employ a range of visual languages, from gestural and improvisational approaches to more structured and symbolic forms, reflecting the breadth of contemporary and modern Black artistic practice.At the center of the exhibition is the direct method of metal sculpture, in which materials are cut, bent, and welded together to build form. This process allows for immediacy and revision, positioning material as an active and responsive element in the development of each work. Rather than adhering to predetermined outcomes, artists working in this way often allow form to emerge through interaction with their materials.Within this framework, abstraction operates as a critical language. Across Black sculptural traditions, abstraction has been used to engage complex histories and lived experiences. In this exhibition, abstraction and representation move fluidly, offering multiple ways of approaching identity and cultural expression.Sculpture in the Direct Method&nbsp;highlights the diversity of approaches and relationships within Black art, emphasizing how artists use material, form, and process to explore and reimagine social, cultural, and aesthetic landscapes.&nbsp; Other exhibition related events:PUBLIC P<a href="https://sfpwlrdab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0018nGdO601K0Us765swOcLJfngaCAZK9Xpmx94WQZZwxVfLw22_iXp3k1uBVdLFIQC9fQbVHFvHVSq1OPWsIwZ1hTMTJqhYjzWAErQJh9DQ2SrJ_Hy0oGG8LD6gSx35mpeIQxaf_aO8OwmoWtmFTvhKzxghxu7-PE_CN3c8A9MA91sPFQj1gmosg==&amp;c=wEhlYspdbK8skk8jBCXuB7cKSX69SRG4MTy-zyu4SDZvQvucsarXsg==&amp;ch=TDWbgZ80bkqthX-o6bdbvqljuVQ3OlTItpD2tUiNXIWEr5DM8-KA-w==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(22, 22, 22);" target="_blank">REVIEW PARTY</a>Friday, May 15, 2026﻿﻿6 - 8 PMARTIST IN DIALOGUE:&nbsp;Isaac Duncan III and Ajene Cetawayo WilliamsSaturday, May 16,&nbsp;2026﻿﻿12 PM<a href="https://sfpwlrdab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0018nGdO601K0Us765swOcLJfngaCAZK9Xpmx94WQZZwxVfLw22_iXp3k1uBVdLFIQCGU3A5vO7RN90eKktov-ar5K8RfXWg4zaIRRBznJX1_xfYZe9VzsjCaxqBisvvFc6KXLxn4XKNMpl5PInNIUyyJpZcx3hq9fTFFRwqfimTkDMVzESSxqu4PMMVTnGc8Yy&amp;c=wEhlYspdbK8skk8jBCXuB7cKSX69SRG4MTy-zyu4SDZvQvucsarXsg==&amp;ch=TDWbgZ80bkqthX-o6bdbvqljuVQ3OlTItpD2tUiNXIWEr5DM8-KA-w==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(22, 22, 22);" target="_blank">COFFEE WITH THE CURATOR</a>Thursday,&nbsp;May 21, 202612 - 1 PMCLASS OFFERINGS: ART AND LABORAges 13+(5) Tuesdays, 6 - 7:30 PMMay 26 - June 23&nbsp;Instructors Tami Fauver and&nbsp;Meli BanderaBased on the book&nbsp;Art and Labor&nbsp;by Ellen Boris and supplemental readings about Richard Hunt. For more information regarding the exhibitions, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://sfpwlrdab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0018nGdO601K0Us765swOcLJfngaCAZK9Xpmx94WQZZwxVfLw22_iXp3nDt0v7q1qrzW9pZxMrgzZKFbCEhszZ0BI3Ak268G3qKRRaUwHkV3YBxnGY3Fc1V0GoHCeLM5vjXQFdHyrE9d49pNF60MdLJIhsxui7xQqN7&amp;c=wEhlYspdbK8skk8jBCXuB7cKSX69SRG4MTy-zyu4SDZvQvucsarXsg==&amp;ch=TDWbgZ80bkqthX-o6bdbvqljuVQ3OlTItpD2tUiNXIWEr5DM8-KA-w==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(36, 125, 146);" target="_blank">www.krasl.org</a>.

Sculpture in the Direct Method

The next Project Space exhibition features designer and artist Maryangela Sanchez Rocca, whose work spans furniture, sculpture, and domestic objects. Sanchez Rocca’s practice emphasizes materials often overlooked and systems of making rooted in care, ritual, and collective labor.For this exhibition, Sanchez Rocca focuses on ixtle (EESH-tleh), a fiber extracted from the lechuguilla plant, native to northern Mexico. Historically used for brushes, ropes, sacks, and baskets, ixtle is closely tied to agricultural labor, land stewardship, and resistance within ejido farming communities. Drawing from knowledge shared by farmworkers in Coahuila, Mexico, Sanchez Rocca traces the material’s significance across Indigenous cultivation practices, colonial economies, and contemporary labor systems.Through sculptural furniture, screens, and immersive installations made from raw ixtle and Douglas fir, Sanchez Rocca transforms utilitarian tools such as brooms and brushes into forms that resist usefulness. The works challenge assumptions about labor, value, and beauty while honoring the many hands that shape materials. In Project Space, the exhibition becomes an environment for reflection, rest, and quiet power.Previous Exhibition: <a href="https://krasl.org/material-memory/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MATERIAL MEMORY</a>

Maryangela Sanchez Rocca

Rockford Art Museum (RAM) opens the Rockford Midwestern Biennial exhibition on Friday, May 22, with a preview reception for museum members and exhibiting artists from 5 to 6 p.m., free public opening includes a gallery walk with 2026 Juror Laurie Hogin and an artist awards ceremony at 6 p.m. The museum will be open until 7:30 p.m. RAM, 711 N. Main St., Rockford.The exhibition remains on view through September 27, 2026. The 2026 Rockford Midwestern is the 78th presentation of Rockford Art Museum's juried exhibition, which began in 1913 as an annual showcase of local artists, then expanded eligibility and was known as the Stateline Vicinity Show through 1998. Now a biennial show that surveys new work by contemporary artists across the Midwest, the competition was open to original artwork, in any medium, created since the last biennial by residents of&nbsp;Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.&nbsp; Juror Laurie Hogin selected 98 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures, mixed media works, and more from eight states (including nine artists from the Rockford region) for this year’s Rockford Midwestern Biennial.&nbsp;“It’s a stellar showcase of the incredible talent of Midwestern artists today,” RAM Curator Carrie Johnson said. Laurie Hogin received her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her BFA from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where she also studied cultural anthropology. Her work is exhibited regularly across the country and is in numerous private and public collections, including the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, the Illinois State Museum, The United States Federal Reserve, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Brauer Museum, Valparaiso, IN, the Racine Art Museum, WI, among many others. She is currently Professor with Tenure and Chair of the Painting and Sculpture Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2026 Exhibiting Artists:&nbsp;Luke Achterberg (Onalaska, WI); Deidre Argyle (Springfield, MO); Nelson Armour (Chicago, IL); Karen Azarnia (River Forest, IL); Heidi Bailey (Warsaw, IN); Michael Banning (Minneapolis, MN); Audrey Barcio (Muncie, IN); Jason Beck (Rockton, IL); Victoria Bein (Edgerton, WI); Lauren Bertelson (Chicago, IL); Lois Bielefeld (Glendale, WI); Jill Birschbach (Evanston, IL); Rebecca Bissi (Racine, WI); Sharon Bladholm (Chicago, IL); Mark Blassage (South Bend, IN); Jennifer Bock-Nelson (Quincy, IL); Mark Brautigam (Milwaukee, WI); Deborah Brooks (Milwaukee, WI); H. Buchholz (Franklin, WI); Roy Cacek (Ankeny, IA); Rebecca Carlton (Fish Creek, WI); Danielle Casali (St. Charles, IL); Ethan Chan (Chicago, IL); Bob Cholke (Rockford, IL); Bobbye Cochran (Chicago, IL); Brent Cole (Muncie, IN); Bridget Conn (Nashville, IN); Benjamin Cook (Louisville, KY); Kevin Corotis (Oak Park, IL); Dragana Crnjak (Boardman, OH); Gary Cudworth (Oswego, IL); Geornica Daniels (Cedarburg, WI); Anita Dawson (Columbus, OH); Jacob Del Negro (Racine, WI); Sessah DelaRue (Belvidere, IL); Brian DePauli (Saint Louis, MO); Jason Dunda (Chicago, IL); Renee Meyer Ernst (Davenport, IA); Darlys Ewoldt (Chicago, IL); Deirdre Fox (Chicago, IL); Rhonda Gates (Rockford, IL); Shelley Gilchrist (Evanston, IL); Tanya Gill (Chicago, IL); Rita Grendze (Geneva, IL); Camryn Gulledge (Springfield, MO); Denis Hagen (Hiawatha, IA); Fletcher Hayes (Chicago, IL); Alan Hobscheid (Chicago, IL); Ellen Holtzblatt (Chicago, IL); Larsen Husby (Chicago, IL); Jeff Ignatius (Rock Island, IL); Shane-Jahi Jackson (Morris, IL); Noah Kashiani (Chicago, IL); Kara Knutson (Oconomowoc, WI); John Kurman (Arlington Heights, IL); Diane Lamboley (Clayton, MO); Isaiah Lee (Chicago, IL); CoCo Ree Lemery (Chicago, IL); Braydon Letsinger (Springville, IN); Diane Levesque (Kenosha, WI); Paula Kloczkowski Luberda (Naperville, IL); Tanya Lunina (Geneva, IL); Lisa Madden (Mokena, IL); Ellen Mahaffy (Eau Claire, WI); Valerie Mangion (Muscoda, WI); T. Michael Martin (Murray, KY); Madeline Martin (Milwaukee, WI); Aeron Maxwell (Chicago, IL); Don McCurdy (St. Charles, IL); Tom McHale (Rockford, IL); Nancie King Mertz (Rockford, IL); Ryan Peter Miller (Chicago, IL); Zach Mory (Glen Ellyn, IL);&nbsp;Thérèse&nbsp;Mulgrew (Chicago, IL); Louisa Murzyn (Munster, IN); Catherine Nelson (Grayslake, IL); Dan Oliver (Chicago, IL); Robert C Osborne (Racine, WI); Mark Pack (Kansas City, MO); Mielle Park (Vernon Hills, IL); Lorraine Peltz (Chicago, IL); Denise Presnell (Sheboygan, WI); Jessie Rebik (Galena, IL); Jason Reblando (Norman, IL); Kimberly Rodey (Wheaton, IL); Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch (Lexington, KY); Kurt Schabell (Loves Park, IL); Edwin Shelton (Michigan City, IN); Dan Simoneau (Kenosha, WI); DeAnna Skedel (Kansas City, MO); Shalen Stephenson (Chicago, IL); Kathy Snow Stratton (Buffalo, MN); Dan Swanson (Rockford, IL); Tori Tasch (Hartland, WI); Ron Testa (Wilmette, IL); Ged Trias (Rockford, IL); Mark Weller (Waunakee, WI); A M Yeager (Bloomington, IL) Awards will be presented at the preview for members and exhibiting artists on Friday, May 22, including the prestigious Dean Alan Olson Purchase Award ($2,000) plus Juror’s First Choice ($750), and two Juror’s Choice awards ($500 each). The Rockford Midwestern Biennial is organized by Carrie Johnson and juried by Laurie Hogin. This exhibition and its related educational programming are sponsored by the Dean Alan Olson Foundation; and partially supported by a grant from the&nbsp;Illinois Arts Council Agency. Free admission is sponsored for the duration of this exhibition by the Dean Alan Olson Foundation. Galleries are open Thursday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. THE 2026 ROCKFORD MIDWESTERN&nbsp;EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMINGAll programs take place at Rockford Art Museum, 711 N. Main St., Rockford LECTURE WITH EXHIBITING ARTISTS&nbsp;THU, JULY 23, 5:30 PM, FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, NO REGISTRATION REQUIREDJoin us for a conversation with exhibiting artists from our Midwestern Biennial as they discuss their inspirations and processes. COFFEE WITH THE CURATOR&nbsp;FRI, SEP 11, 9 AM, FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, NO REGISTRATION NECESSARYGet a behind-the-scenes look into the process of curating the feature exhibition with Executive Director/Curator Carrie Johnson. Complimentary coffee provided.

2026 Rockford Midwestern Biennial

The work of West Michigan’s talented artistic community is on view during the annual&nbsp;West Michigan Area Show.&nbsp;This crowd-pleasing annual juried exhibition was carefully curated from more than 300 submitted entries, ranging from paintings, prints, and photos to mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and mixed-media works.Local artists from 14 West Michigan counties submit their art for a chance to be juried into the show.&nbsp;More than $6,000 will be awarded and entries can range from paintings, prints, and photos to mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and mixed-media works.2026 WMAS JurorThis year’s juror is Xuxa Rodríguez, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at Duke University’s Nasher Museum. Prior to her role at Duke, Rodríguez served as the Associate Curator of Contemporary Arts at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Rodríguez will present an ArtBreak lecture on Wednesday, May 27, at noon in the KIA auditorium.2026 WMAS Awards<ul><li>$1,000 Helen Sheridan Memorial Grand Prize</li><li>$ 500 Second Place</li><li>$ 400 Third Place</li><li>$ 300 Fourth Place</li><li>$ 200 Fifth Place</li><li>Portage Community Art Award</li><li>Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo’s People’s Choice Award</li><li>The Martin Maddox Prize for Imaginative Realism</li><li>Ninth Wave Studio Award for Ingenuity in Mixed Media or Intermedia</li><li>Art League Award</li><li>Signature Artists, LLC, Award</li><li>Eclectic Glass Guild of Southwest Michigan</li><li>Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters’ Art Quilt Award</li><li>Southwest Michigan Printmakers Excellence in Printmaking Award</li><li>Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Book, Print, and Paper Award</li><li>West Michigan Potters Guild Award for Ceramics</li><li>The Ward H. and Cora E. Nay Director’s Purchase Prize</li></ul><a href="https://www.kiarts.org/events/tag/wmas/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to see upcoming events in connection with this exhibition</a>.

2026 West Michigan Area Show

For the People, By the People: America at 250&nbsp;looks to the nation’s impending semiquincentennial as an opportunity to reflect on America’s enduring ties to liberty, justice, and identity. Drawing inspiration from the democratic ideals articulated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, this exhibition considers how the promise of freedom has been expressed, questioned, and reimagined across generations. Organized into four thematic sections,&nbsp;For the People, By the People&nbsp;brings together artworks from the KIA’s collection and loans of historic significance and bold contemporary voices to examine the symbols, struggles, and aspirations that shaped and continue to inform American life.Spanning photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and installation-based works, this exhibition juxtaposes notable artists such as Dorothea Lange, Jacob Lawrence, Alfred Stieglitz, Hank Willis Thomas, and Andy Warhol with rising artists like Erica Lord, Julio Cesar Morales, and Cara Romero, among many others. From iconic images of migration and protest to neon text works and staged portraits that center Indigenous, African American, and diasporic experiences, the artists featured in For the People, By the People fashion and challenge the rhetoric and visual language of patriotism, social consciousness, labor, visibility, and belonging.Simultaneously celebratory and contemplative, this exhibition invites visitors to reflect on America’s founding principles and our current lived realities. By placing historic works in dialogue with contemporary practices,&nbsp;For the People, By the People: America at 250&nbsp;not only commemorates the nation’s 250th anniversary, but it also serves as a timely meditation on who “the people” were then—and who we aspire to be now.<a href="https://www.kiarts.org/events/tag/america250/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to see all events in connection with this exhibition</a>.﻿

For the People, By the People: America at 250

MUMS at Meijer Gardens&nbsp;showcases Michigan’s largest display of chrysanthemums, featuring thousands of garden and specialty mums in rich autumnal colors, along with fall-themed programming and Tuesday evening events.

MUMS at Meijer Gardens

One of only two Chihuly exhibitions in the world in 2026,&nbsp;CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens Presented by Macatawa Bank&nbsp;is a major exhibition of international significance. The experience spans both the outdoor gardens and indoor Sculpture Galleries, creating a dynamic dialogue between glass, landscape, and architecture.&nbsp;Outdoors, guests will encounter monumental glass sculptures, vibrant&nbsp;Reeds, and striking site-responsive installations that appear to grow from the landscape, amplifying color, light, and form throughout the gardens. Indoors, the separately ticketed gallery exhibition&nbsp;Chihuly: Radiant Forms&nbsp;traces more than 40 years of Dale Chihuly’s creative journey. The exhibition features work from many of his most celebrated series, including&nbsp;Baskets,&nbsp;Macchia,&nbsp;Seaforms,&nbsp;Putti,&nbsp;Ikebana,&nbsp;Persians,&nbsp;Venetians,&nbsp;Cylinders, and&nbsp;Rotolo, along with original drawings that offer insight into his creative process and sources of inspiration.&nbsp;Designed for visitors of all ages,&nbsp;CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens&nbsp;invites both long-term admirers and first-time viewers to experience the work of one of the world’s most influential artists in a setting where art, culture, and nature meet. See&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC-2Fc4ce2SDpH5WBMhYM8Lg3vMPQs5XAbZCZ0FrT4y8DV5IAx5_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62Papsj-2FEMdnG4nN1Qo796g0RxGgCD6tZhe9AwtUHIFq1tAylqDj842HkNV4wYVNY4xw2XiPRSDLBolCKLsmz4mAfXyTKdAWEBNXMZS2HPTyW9tzh76eJPxtoS3TeCfWde-2FWTR36oITD8AJ2o16OioU6rZzSVhUtY-2FQMgnv00UizvWdkF-2F6vDGFX8RjYZ6VxGE9RjaFP3GxOchTBy9JEhqw0aRDSSQKKZ9o5ocAwD09kINSqSLHBx-2FwnUgD-2BEf05TldTsoQY4IIsvjRN-2FDK-2FrtXNjUU2iL2upL7H53VA7YA-2BwQHU-3D" target="_blank">website</a>&nbsp;for related exhibition programming. Tickets go on sale in February.

CHIHULY

The immersive outdoor light experience&nbsp;ENLIGHTEN at Meijer Gardens Presented by PNC Bank&nbsp;returns with a one-mile illuminated pathway that weaves innovative light displays, music, interactive elements, and the Sculpture Park into a bespoke multisensory outdoor winter experience.

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