July 24, 2025
Ferris State alumni, faculty, and students recognized among leading regional artists in 2025 West Michigan Area Show
Alumni, faculty, and students from Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design are making their mark on one of West Michigan’s longest-running juried art exhibitions.
Ferris State University Kendall College of Art and Design Illustration students Sydney Donath (right) and Kaylee Dirkmaat (left) are shown here at the West Michigan Area Show.
The 2025 West Michigan Area Show features 11 pieces by artists with KCAD connections, including three that were selected for distinguished awards by juror and Detroit-based artist and educator Hubert Massey.
Hosted by the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the 64th annual competition drew nearly 500 entries from 14 Michigan counties, with only 64 selected for inclusion.
“I looked for original works that demonstrated innovative use of materials and concepts,” Massey said. “Equally important was the artist’s skill and ability to effectively execute their ideas.”
Lee Ann Frame, a 2006 graduate of the KCAD Master of Fine Arts program, had her print, “Stopping By” selected to receive both the Ward H. and Cora E. Nay Director’s Purchase Prize and the Southwest Michigan Printmakers Excellence in Printmaking Award.
Frame is an award-winning printmaker and ceramic artist who has been featured in prominent juried exhibitions at venues around the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Her work is included in the permanent collections of Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park and the Muskegon Museum of Art, among many other institutions, and she is a member of several national professional organizations, including the Society of American Graphic Artists and the International Society of Experimental Artists.
Later this year, Frame will be featured in several other high-profile exhibitions, including the 2025 Boston Printmaking Members’ Exhibit at Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Mass. and the Innovations 2025 exhibition presented by the International Society of Experimental Artists at Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens in Ormond Beach, Fla.
Fellow KCAD alum Tatsuki Hakoyama was selected to receive The Martin Maddox Prize for Imaginative Realism for his painting, “Feel the Need to Breathe on My Own.” Hakoyama earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from KCAD in 2014 and currently teaches in the Studio Arts program as an assistant professor.
He’s gained widespread recognition for his allegorical figurative paintings, which have been featured in over 70 solo, group, and juried exhibitions around the nation. They've also earned him a host of awards, most recently the Award of Recognition in the 80th Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition at Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana.
In addition to the 2025 West Michigan Area Show, Hakoyama is currently featured in the juried group exhibition Imaginary Worlds: Invented Spaces and Places at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center in Solomons, Maryland and the juried group exhibition Behind the Mask at the Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri. This September, he’ll be featured in a solo exhibition, Solitary Masquerade, at the Tennessee Tech University Joan Derryberry Gallery.
Pictured is KCAD alum Jackson Wrede's "Literally Us."
Other KCAD connections in the exhibition include professor emeritus Jay Constantine, who has two of his large-scale historical narrative paintings featured: “A Bad Day in Charlottesville” and “The Trial in Kenosha.”
Additional featured alumni include Beth Purdy, a 2006 graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program, with “Never Wake a Sleeping Baby,” and Jackson Wrede, a 2021 graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program, with the painting “Literally Us.”
A trio of KCAD students are also among the featured artists. Illustration student Kaylee Dirkmaat has two pieces included— “Where the Forest Meets the Sea” and “Falcon in Ink”—while Master of Fine Arts student Seongbae Cho (“Biking on the Rainbow”) and Illustration student Sydney Donath (“Regal Raptor”) each have one piece included.
All the featured KCAD artists are part of what KIA Executive Director Michelle Hargrave sees as a reflection of both the region’s immense creative talent and the central role that art and artists play in cultivating the identity of West Michigan.
“This exhibition believes that art, particularly regional artwork, matters. It enriches lives, reflects communities and offers new perspectives,” Hargrave said. “Featuring a wide range of practices and perspectives, the West Michigan Area Show emphasizes creativity’s vital role in shaping our shared culture.”
The 2025 West Michigan Area Show is on view now through September 14 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.