Who gets to decide what art is? ArtPrize, an international art competition and cultural festival in Grand Rapids, Mich., tries to answer that question. The annual event attracts 800,000 visitors who view the work of more than 1,000 artists. The paintings, sculptures, interactive works, new media and more are displayed in parks, streets, galleries, restaurants and other locations throughout the city.
Huizenga
Glanville
ArtPrize began in 2009 as a public art event, with attendees voting for prize winners. There is still a public voting component, as well as a panel of experts in juried voting. Today, ArtPrize awards more than $600,000 in prizes and grants to artists, curators and educators.
In 2022, ArtPrize announced a public-private partnership among the city of Grand Rapids, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and Ferris State University’ Kendall College of Art and Design. As a nonprofit, ArtPrize gets contributions from corporations, foundations, individual donations and government grants. This year, ArtPrize will take place Sept. 18 to Oct. 4.
NCSL caught up with Rep. Carol Glanville (D), of District 84, and Sen. Mark E. Huizenga (R), of District 30, the legislators who represent the Grand Rapids area.
What does ArtPrize mean for your district?
Glanville: It’s a huge economic driver and an amazing community builder. It’s all public art, all free to access. There could be a whole area with a theme or clusters of artists in areas, and it just draws everybody into all different parts of the city. It brings everybody together, children to adults, artists to non-artists, and it’s just fantastic.
Huizenga: ArtPrize is a time for our entire city to get involved in art. We have a very vibrant art community, and people from all over the country participate. Everyone has their own perception of what art means to them, and ArtPrize gives recognition to the fact that art can mean so many things. It gives people a chance to pause and realize, art is more than going to the Smithsonian or the Detroit Institute of Arts.
What makes ArtPrize different from other art festivals?
Glanville: It prompts conversation. You might be standing next to a stranger, and you find that people have very specific ideas about art. That makes it user-friendly and not just somebody else telling you what art should be. There are interactive exhibits with supplies set out, and you can participate. The intentional community engagement, that’s the piece that’s just so amazing.
Huizenga: The biggest thing is it allows the general public to make decisions about what great art means. We are open to every genre of art, and the general public makes judgments about what is best. It’s so different every single time, and the variety you see every year is something else.
Have you attended ArtPrize? What is your favorite part?
Glanville: I love everything about ArtPrize. For locals, one of the benefits is in the week or so before (the event starts), we get a sneak peek, because there are not a lot of crowds. Some of the pieces are elaborate and take time to set up, and we can walk around and see that. My favorite thing is the people. Another thing that says something about Grand Rapids and West Michigan is the public-private partnership piece. If you want to have art displayed in your place of business, you have to adhere to ArtPrize rules. You have to be open until 9 at night, and you have to have volunteers or staff in place. The fact that everybody comes together from all over the city speaks to the character of Grand Rapids. It’s a very philanthropic place, and ArtPrize would not work in places that do not have that tradition.
Huizenga: One of my favorite parts is talking to other people about what they think the top 10 are going to look like. There are so many different venues and so many different creations, when you talk to your friends, you see different tastes. The fact that it really pulls together people’s creative energies, really is a testimony to the art community and people who are so passionate about art. We have local artists who get involved, and we have national artists who say this is a big deal.
What else is great about your district?
Glanville: We have Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park outside the city. We have John Ball Zoo, an urban zoo that does a fantastic job of conservation, with thoughtfully created structures and ecosystems for the animals. We have amateur feeder league teams in baseball, basketball, and we are constructing a stadium for soccer. There are bike trails. In winter we have World of Winter.
Huizenga: We have lots of great restaurants downtown. The Grand River flows through downtown, and there is work to restore it to rapids state. We have one of the greatest trail networks, and you can ride a bicycle from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo. We have some amazing concert arenas, with great concerts, shows and expositions, and we are building an amphitheater to bring more people for outdoor music. It’s going to be really something special.
Nora Caley is a Denver-based freelance writer.
“My District” gives NCSL members a chance to tell us about life in the places they represent, from the high-profile events to the virtues only locals know about. The interview responses have been compiled and edited for clarity.