up front encore
First Things Something Contemplative Artists and poets create Home In
an exhibition opening this month at Western Michigan University, more than 30 Kalamazoo-area poets and artists explore what solidifies or disrupts our understandings of home. “The idea of Home extends far beyond the physical manifestation of home,” says Mindi Bagnall, curator of Home: An Artists and Writers Project. “Home can be a location, a person or group of people, a feeling, a state of mind, or an abstract sense of belonging, wonder and warmth.” The writers and artists spent most of the last year participating in a series of workshops and meetings for the exhibit, resulting in a collaborative exploration. Home opens Jan. 15 and runs through March 6 at the Netzorg and Kerr Gallery at WMU’s Richmond Center for Visual Arts. A public reception is set for 5–7:30 p.m. Jan. 14. A reading will take place at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19 in Room 2008 of the center. The exhibit will be on display March 15–April 11 at the Carnegie Center for the Arts, in Three Rivers. For more information, call 287-2455 or visit wmich.edu/art/ exhibitions. Two poems from the project appear on page 43.
Something Delicious Fill up on Kalamazoo fare
If you’ve wanted to try all the savory, delectable food at restaurants in downtown Kalamazoo without breaking the bank, there’s a week for that: Downtown Kalamazoo Restaurant Week, Jan. 25-Feb. 1. This culinary event kicks off 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Jan. 24 with a Chili Cook-Off, featuring more than 25 chili variations to sample at retail stores and restaurants. The rest of the week, participating restaurants, including Food Dance, Epic Bistro, Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill, The Union and the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, will offer special $10 or $25 fixed-price dishes. There will also be special events and offers at retail outlets like The Spirit of Kalamazoo, so you can shop while you restaurant hop. Menus, participating restaurant listings and other details available at KalamazooRestaurantWeek.com.
Something Good
Serving the community To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, the city of Kalamazoo and Volunteer Kalamazoo will organize a community-wide Day of Service. Organizations around the greater Kalamazoo area will offer volunteer opportunities at Westwood Elementary School, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, Ministry With Community and other locations. The Day of Service kicks off at 8 a.m. at Kalamazoo City Hall with a continental breakfast for participants. Lunch will be delivered to volunteer sites, and later in the afternoon volunteers will join a march from Kanley Chapel, on Western Michigan University’s campus, to Kalamazoo College. To view volunteer listings and to register, visit go.volunteerkalamazoo.org/aam.
8 | Encore JANUARY 2015