Kalamazoo Calendar Project Traveling Exhibition
September 8, 2025-June 1, 2026
Installed in schools
Best for grades K-12
For more than twenty years, a group of Kalamazoo artists has created an annual suite of twelve original hand-pulled silkscreen prints, which masquerades as a monthly calendar. While the individuals involved tend to change slightly from year to year, the hope and belief of the group is that, even with widely varying backgrounds and experiences, the fact that they all call Kalamazoo home communicates and represents something essential about life in this particular place. Other than that bit of faith, the common denominator of the prints is that they are all on the same size sheet of paper. EFA will deliver and install the artwork in schools in two-week blocks. MORE
Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper
October 8, 2025-January 9, 2026
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Best for grades K-12
Washi Transformed presents over thirty-five highly textured two-dimensional works, expressive sculptures, and dramatic installations that explore the astonishing potential of this traditional medium. In this exhibition, nine Japanese artists embrace the seemingly infinite possibilities of washi, underscoring the unique stature this ancient art form has earned in the realm of international contemporary art. The breathtaking creativity of these artistic visionaries deepens our understanding of how the past informs the present, and how it can build lasting cultural bridges out of something as seemingly simple and ephemeral as paper. MORE
Dominic Moore-Dunson
The Remember Balloons
November 18-20, 2025
10:00 AM & 12:15 PM
Comstock Auditorium
Best for grades 2-6
The Remember Balloons is a heartwarming intergenerational tale that embraces the beauty of sharing memories while delicately addressing memory loss. James’s Grandpa treasures his balloons, each representing cherished memories – his wedding with Grandma, a fishing trip with James. When the balloons begin to drift away, James is devastated until he discovers he can share those balloons one by one. Director/Choreographer Dominic Moore-Dunson, Dance Magazine’s 2023 “25 to Watch”, adapts this touching story for the stage, accompanied by an original score and digital projections, crafting a captivating dance-theatre experience suitable for the entire family. MORE
Jazzy Ash and the Leaping Lizards
The Riverboat
December 2, 2025
9:45 AM & 12:15 PM
Miller Auditorium
Best for grades K-5
Jazzy Ash invites students to come along on a Crescent City inspired, jazzy music adventure with her band the Leaping Lizards. She’s a talented and prolific songwriter as well as a musical treasure hunter, highlighting traditional songs, rhythms and rhymes that have been handed down by African-American children, adults, and musicians for generations. The Riverboat concert features originals like “Throw Me Something Mista” that conjures the spirit of a Mardi Gras parade, as well as jazz standards like Louis Armstrong’s “Heebie Jeebies” in front of gorgeous projected images of New Orleans, Congo Square, the Louisiana bayou, and even a field of fireflies. MORE
Theatre Heroes
Wind in the Willows
December 9-11, 2025
10:00 AM & 12:15 PM
Comstock Auditorium
Best for grades 3-8
Journey into the Wild Wood on this multi-media adventure based on Kenneth Grahame’s beloved children’s novel. Wind in the Willows mixes classic storytelling with projected illustrations to tell the trials of Mole and Rat on an all-night race against time as they venture through the hidden wonders of the forest to find the young Otter before it’s too late. The production from Theatre Heroes of Austin, TX, uses 180-degree projection that surrounds the performer and provides scenic elements throughout the show, while underscoring music and soundscapes set the mood. Experience the magic and mystery as award-winning actor Noel Gaulin plays all the fabled characters in this new adaptation of this classic story. MORE
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
February 11-June 5, 2026
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Best for grades K-12
Future Now features around sixty futuristic designs from the Bata Shoe Museum’s holdings as well as loans from prominent institutions, collectors, designers, and inventors. It explores how cutting-edge technologies, unexpected materials, and new ideas are transforming footwear today. The exhibition includes digitally designed and 3D-printed shoes, sneakers made from mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics, and footwear created for the metaverse. MORE
123 Andrés
Around the Americas
February 16, 2026
9:45 AM & 12:15 PM
Miller Auditorium
Best for grades K-6
This bilingual concert will be performed in Spanish and English. Christina and Andrés can’t find their friend Juana, and their only clue is that she’s somewhere in the Americas. Join GRAMMY and Latin Grammy Award-winning 123 Andrés in this lively, interactive concert to search the continents and learn about geography and music along the way. The audience will be a key part in this rich journey brought to the stage with colorful, exciting visuals. Andrés and Christina, both native Spanish speakers, incorporate language seamlessly, inviting students (and grown-ups!) to sing, move, and learn. MORE
Pilobolus
Pilobolus is a Fungus
February 24, 2026
9:45 AM & 12:15 PM
Miller Auditorium
Best for grades K-12
Pilobolus is a Fungus is an interactive performance for young audiences based on Branches, a site-specific dance piece commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the National Endowment for the Arts. The audience journeys through nature, perceiving the sounds, shapes, colors, and movements of birds, water, trees, and of course, their namesake fungus, in new and unexpected ways. Pilobolus began at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, circa 1971, as an outsider dance company and quickly became renowned the world over for its imaginative and athletic exploration of creative collaboration. It has evolved into a pioneering American cultural institution of the 21st century. MORE
Tutti Frutti Productions
Hare and Tortoise
April 15-17, 2026
10:00 AM & 12:15 PM
Comstock Auditorium
Best for grades PreK-3
Two unlikely friends, the Hare and the Tortoise, meet for the greatest race on earth. A race with a nail-biting, seconds-ticking, medal winning-end, that will determine who is the quickest of all – the excitable Hare or the wise Tortoise. Ready? Steady? Is it time to GO?! Enjoy this charming adaptation of Aesop’s fable about friendship, opposites, and growing up. Tutti Frutti Productions from Leeds, England, brings you this much-loved story brimming with fun, live music, unforgettable songs, and delightful characters, who learn that slow and steady wins the race. MORE