Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition - KNAC

08/20/2025

We have some exciting news: construction has officially begun at KNAC! This week, we initiated exterior restoration work. This work is focused on protecting and preserving the historic First Baptist Church building, including repairing mortar and tuckpointing, restoring gutters and downspouts, and sealing the structure against water.

This marks the first visible step from the Inspire Access to Arts and Innovation Campaign toward transforming Kalamazoo's oldest public building into a vibrant place for our creative community to come together.

Major interior renovations are expected to follow later this year. Thanks to everyone who has supported KNAC and made this work possible!

https://knac1853.org/

This exterior renovation project is supported by a grant from the City of Kalamazoo’s Historic Preservation Commission and the O’Connor Fund for Historic Preservation. You can support the O’Connor Fund’s work at www.kalfound.org.

04/15/2025

10/10/2024

First Show Sold Out! Second Show Added!

Pipe Dreams

In partnership with the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, the Symphony pulls out all the stops. Featuring the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and more, the mighty organ will echo throughout this beautiful concert space.

October 27 @ 4:30pm

For more info or to purchase tickets:

October 27, 2024

08/07/2024

Two Office / Studio Spaces for Rent (Temporary) in Historic Multi-Use Building on W. Michigan Ave (former First Baptist Church) Available immediately through February or March 2025. Space #1: 624sqft Space #2: 729sqft. For more information or to schedule a time to see spaces, contact Elise at [email protected]

11/29/2023

Tonight KNAC was awarded $18,300 by Guys Who Give Kalamazoo! Wow! This is supporting our Inspire Access to Arts & Innovation Capital Campaign, which will create exciting improvements at the historic First Baptist Church building in Kalamazoo.

Thanks to Guys Who Give Kalamazoo, we are another step closer to making this vision a reality. Upon completion of renovations, we will showcase four performing arts venues to accompany below-market rental opportunities for nonprofits, for-profits, and entrepreneurs of all types.

Huge thanks to Guys Who Give for seeing this vision and recognizing the value of this project for Kalamazoo.

This is such an exciting time! You can learn more about what we're doing here:

https://knac1853.org/inspire-campaign/

10/12/2023

KNAC was recently featured on the latest episode of Kalamazoo Lively Arts! Check it out here:

The Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition looks to the future while preserving the past at the historical First Baptist Church.

09/28/2023

Looking for something to do tonight/this weekend? We’ve got you covered!

09/07/2023

08/01/2023

Come dance with us!!

Registration is now open for our 2023-24 Season! Link in bio or www.tyechuadance.com/registernow

Tye Chua Dance offers recreational and professional track classes for dancers of all ages and abilities. Our studio is warm and welcoming to everyone - we are so excited to have you join us!

Whether you're an adult who's never stepped foot in a studio, a parent of dancers, or a dancer wanting to go pro - we have a class for you!

07/18/2023

Thank you Kalamazoo City Commissioner (and KNAC Board Member) Qiana Decker for spending some time this morning pulling weeds and picking up trash ! We appreciate your efforts!

If you'd like to volunteer some of your time around the KNAC building & grounds, give our Building Manager, Elise Ripmaster (269-216-9022) a shout and she would be more than happy to plug you in!

06/17/2023

Congratulations Alexander Bosak on your outstanding Senior Piano Recital and thank you for choosing KNAC as the venue to showcase your phenomenal talent! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

06/16/2023

Fall semester at Wittenberg University in 1517, and Hamlet (Prince of Denmark, senior, class of 1518) still hasn’t decided on a major! As Hamlet seeks guidance from his favorite professors, Dr. John Faustus (Philosophy & debauchery) and Rev.Fr. Martin Luther (well… Theology), all three find themselves at a crossroads in the ever-present struggle between faith and reason, desire and the divine. This clever contemporary comedy is a hilarious mash-up of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus and, yes, even the Protestant Reformation.

Show Dates: June 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25
Showtime: 7:30pm (All Dates)

Tickets: $20

Directed by Kevin Dodd
Produced by Mitch Voss

Cast (in order of appearance)
John Faustus – Mitch Voss
Hamlet – Ian Darling-Romain
Martin Luther – Robert Davidson
Eternal Feminine – Lisa Abbott

Press Quotes:

“…a crackling good bit of entertainment…bursts with a Stoppardian eagerness to tickle as it tangles with weightier issues… Hilarity, thy name is WITTENBERG.” — NY Times.

“…the pace is zippy, the themes beautifully articulated and the overall sensation exhilarating…’To be or not to be’ never sounded so entertaining.” — Huffington Post.

“A cocktail of brainy allusions, absurdist plot twists, sly wordplay and disarming anachronisms, fortified with serious ideas, WITTENBERG should delight Tom Stoppard fans, recovering English majors, [and] disillusioned academics…” — Washington Post.

For tickets: https://crawlspacecomedy.com/event/wittenberg-by-david-davalos/?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=Wittenberg-announcement&goal=0_15b22608c1-55b172f5e4-172279251&mc_cid=55b172f5e4&mc_eid=17a563def4