Local arts administrator to be next speaker in Mercantile speaker series

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The executive director of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts will be the next speaker at the upcoming Mercantile Bank of Michigan Breakfast Speaker Series hosted by the Haworth College of Business.

Belinda Tate will give a presentation titled "Building Community Through the Arts" at 8 a.m. Friday, March 31, in 2150 Schneider Hall.

The event is free and open to the public and begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (269) 387-6059 or at wmich.edu/business/mercantile-rsvp. Free parking is available in Fetzer Center Lot 72F.

Belinda Tate

Tate has served as executive director at the KIA since 2014. During her tenure, she has expanded programming to a wide range of audiences, featured new and inventive ways to share the arts, expanded the permanent collection and led the Kirk Newman Art School within the institute to record registration.

Prior to joining the KIA, Tate was the director of the Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University, one of the nation’s top African-American art galleries. There, she oversaw all curatorial, educational, operational and financial aspects of the gallery.

Tate received her undergraduate degree in art history and museum studies from Yale University and her Master of Arts in liberal studies from Wake Forest University. Her work has been recognized by the International Review of African American Art, and she has had more than 100 exhibition reviews and articles appear in other national and international publications.

The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is a nonprofit art museum and school. Since 1924, the institute has offered art classes, exhibitions, lectures, events, activities and a permanent collection. The KIA's mission is to cultivate the creation and appreciation of the visual arts in West Michigan.

Mercantile Bank of Michigan Breakfast Speaker Series

The Mercantile Bank of Michigan Breakfast Speaker Series provides an opportunity for the local community to hear top business leaders and WMU faculty, alumni and friends of the Haworth College of Business discuss current topics of interest.

Upcoming presentations

• April 28: Bobby Hopewell, mayor, city of Kalamazoo
• May 19: Kathy Beauregard, director of athletics, WMU

For more information or to register, contact the Haworth College of Business at (269) 387-6059 or at wmich.edu/business/mercantile-rsvp.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.