About Us
Prairie Ronde is an artist residency and gallery rooted in place, process, and transformation. It exists at the intersection of creative expression and adaptive reuse, offering artists the opportunity to engage deeply with an area undergoing a massive transformation.
Founding Vision
The idea for Prairie Ronde emerged through relationships already rooted in Vicksburg. By the time the former Lee Paper Company paper mill began its redevelopment into The Mill at Vicksburg under Chris Moore’s stewardship, John Kern had been living in the Village for two years and working as a community liaison through area schools. His involvement in Vicksburg made him deeply familiar with the site and its surrounding community.
Artist Frances Li had also been spending time in Vicksburg, creating work and engaging with the local landscape. Kern invited her to tour the 416,000-square-foot mill and together, they asked an insightful question: How might we activate this space to create opportunity for artists to experience Vicksburg and The Mill?
At the time, the arts were not largely considered as part of The Mill’s long-term vision. Once Kern and Li pitched their idea for an artist residency to Moore, they planted a seed that would grow into a lasting pillar of The Mill today.
What began as a means to provide artists with access to this massive industrial site evolved into visiting artists becoming chroniclers of The Mill’s rehabilitation—documenting change, interpreting process and revealing new ways of seeing a place in transition.
Activation and Early Residency
Founded in 2016 by Chris Moore, The Mill at Vicksburg was envisioned as a center for music, community, and adaptive reuse. Within this broader framework of stewardship, Prairie Ronde took shape.
More than a backdrop, The Mill functions as a living environment that invites artists to explore, create, and document a moment of profound transformation, both within the site itself and across the surrounding region.
Beginning with a one-artist model, Prairie Ronde welcomed its first resident, May Hong, in the spring of 2018. The program focused on providing the space, time, and resources needed for deep engagement with The Mill and the broader Southwest Michigan landscape.
Since then, Prairie Ronde has grown through careful intention, guided by a sustained belief in the power of scale, history, and place to inspire creative work.
A Name with History
The name Prairie Ronde is rooted in the land’s history, referring to the open prairie and oak savannahs that once defined the region. These landscapes were intentionally cultivated through the Potawatomi practice of controlled burns, supporting easier travel, improved habitat for game, and enriched soil that strengthened both foraged and agricultural food systems.
The French term Prairie Ronde, meaning “the round prairie,” was later used to describe these open grassland formations in the 1600s. Today, the name reflects not only the physical landscape that once shaped Southwest Michigan, but also a legacy of care, adaptation and intention embedded in the land itself.
Expanding Our Impact
Over time, Prairie Ronde has grown into a highly competitive residency, widely respected for its place-based approach and commitment to artists. Today, the program attracts applications from established national and international artists.
As Prairie Ronde has evolved, so has its footprint. The organization now supports multiple artists annually, operates a gallery space in downtown Vicksburg, hosts a speaker series in partnership with Vicksburg Arts and the Kalamazoo Arts Council, and has created project-based experiential learning opportunities with Western Michigan University’s Frostic School of Art’s Kinetic Imaging Department. Prairie Ronde has also hosted specialized programming such as an E-textile camp and continues to share artist stories through regional media partnerships.
Moving the Arts Forward
At its core, Prairie Ronde exists to support artists while strengthening the cultural fabric of the region. Through collaboration, experimentation, and sustained belief in the value of creative work, the residency contributes to a growing ecosystem of arts programming—helping establish Vicksburg and the surrounding area as a destination for artists and arts audiences alike.
This commitment to artistic excellence has been recognized regionally. In 2025, Prairie Ronde received the Epic Award from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, which recognizes programs that enhance life through art and demonstrate the power of creativity to strengthen community.
Prairie Ronde continues to look forward, expanding partnerships and imagining what’s next, guided by the same principles that shaped its beginning: artists at the center, place as collaborator, and community as shared investment.
