ArtPrize and Project 1 - Grand Rapids

[droonus2000]

Having lived for 8 months in very rural east Texas, the pride factor would have been uncontrollable. Major corporations from DQ to Walmart have special Texas logos and signage, every overpass has a symbol of geographic significance set in the concrete (something I wish we did here; stars in Dallas, Roses in Tyler, oil rigs in Houston, etc.) You know when you are in Texas.

Where I lived the whole town shut down on Friday nights and Sunday mornings and you don't dare question it. Dallas is far different and more liberal comparatively then where I lived, but the paradigm lingers.

I think Artprize was just too far out of the box. 

[getemngo]

Like anything else, 20% of the people in a field create 80% of the (good) work. Art is no different. The remaining 80% are mediocre at best.

This is best summed up in Sturgeon's Law: "Ninety percent of everything is crap."

[The ATX]

Dallas is the most uptight and stay inside the box of the Big Four Texas Metros IMO (and many others).  Dallas is the place that people move to (in huge numbers) for a corporate job and a nice house in the suburbs.   Art Prize won't fit inside a proper museum which makes it a bad fit for Dallas.  If Art Prize wanted to make a splash in Texas, Austin, San Antonio or Houston would have been a better fit.  IMO someplace that was not one of the Big Four, like Galveston for example, would have been a much better choice.  Even Dallas's little brother Fort Worth would probably be a good place for Art Prize.

Edited October 31, 2015 by The ATX

[GRDadof3]

Dallas is the most uptight and stay inside the box of the Big Four Texas Metros IMO (and many others).  Dallas is the place that people move to (in huge numbers) for a corporate job and a nice house in the suburbs.   Art Prize won't fit inside a proper museum which makes it a bad fit for Dallas.  If Art Prize wanted to make a splash in Texas, Austin, San Antonio or Houston would have been a better fit.  IMO someplace that was not one of the Big Four, like Galveston for example, would have been a much better choice.  Even Dallas's little brother Fort Worth would probably be a good place for Art Prize.

Apparently a lot of cities ask to host their own ArtPrize, but never follow up. Dallas was adamant that they wanted one and vowed to raise the funds to put it together.

[wingbert]

Well what am I supposed to do with the 30 ft. by 30 ft. afghan I knitted with an image of Jesus bursting out of an oil well and smiling his radiance down on the Alamo?

 

[The ATX]

Well what am I supposed to do with the 30 ft. by 30 ft. afghan I knitted with an image of Jesus bursting out of an oil well and smiling his radiance down on the Alamo?

 

Nice.  But to be fair Dallas is too hoighty-toighty for that.  Better save that afghan for any arts & craft show in rural East Texas.  It's too big for a trailer - even a double-wide.  But I'm sure it could be cut to fit.

[GRDadof3]

Nice.  But to be fair Dallas is too hoighty-toighty for that.  Better save that afghan for any arts & craft show in rural East Texas.  It's too big for a trailer - even a double-wide.  But I'm sure it could be cut to fit.

 

Well the city might be hoighty toighty, but like much of a America, it's swathed in thousands of miles of overly conservative suburbs. And the artists would come from all over Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma..

It's not happening anyway, so I guess the point is moot.

I actually started out no liking AP this year, or thought it was severely lacking in outdoor pieces for sure, but ended up liking it better than the last couple of years.

 

Edited November 3, 2015 by GRDadof3

[egrguy]

ArtPrize bans repeat grand prize winners, will limit finalists at popular venues

Some hefty changes for the upcoming Art Prize.

[GR_Urbanist]

I still wish they would move away from the classic square boundaries of the competition.

There is just too much of the west side, Medical Mile, and N. Monroe that are part of it, when there are too few visitors or are just too much of a pain to get to.

If they got a little creative with the boundaries and worked them around places where people are known to walk around at all times of the day all year long, there would be many more opportunities for artists to get more exposure. It will also benefit local businesses that might get some needed foot traffic. It will also spread out the crowds, and save many people the need to have to pile into one area because that's where all of the "good stuff" is.

Why not Uptown, John Ball Zoo+W. Fulton, Gaslight Village and Reeds Lake? Keep the Meijer Gardens in as well. I forgot to mark in the New Holland area on Bridge St., but include that as well.

 

[organsnyder]

I really like the idea of changing the boundaries to include more neighborhoods. I'd extend that to change the boundaries every year to feature different parts of the city. They dabbled into this with the Grandville neighborhood satellite last year.

[RegalTDP]

3 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

I still wish they would move away from the classic square boundaries of the competition.

There is just too much of the west side, Medical Mile, and N. Monroe that are part of it, when there are too few visitors or are just too much of a pain to get to.

If they got a little creative with the boundaries and worked them around places where people are known to walk around at all times of the day all year long, there would be many more opportunities for artists to get more exposure. It will also benefit local businesses that might get some needed foot traffic. It will also spread out the crowds, and save many people the need to have to pile into one area because that's where all of the "good stuff" is.

(Map)

Why not Uptown, John Ball Zoo+W. Fulton, Gaslight Village and Reeds Lake? Keep the Meijer Gardens in as well. I forgot to mark in the New Holland area on Bridge St., but include that as well.

 

I love these boundaries!  But it doesn't solve the problem that people will tend to crowd around Center City regardless, and artists will continue to vie for precious venue space there.

I still like my idea from 2009.  Take your map, divide it into regions, and regional winners will have a chance to compete in the finals on a more equal footing.

[GRDadof3]

I think the boundaries should be smaller, no more than a mile from the corner of Ottawa and Monroe Center. That's as far as 95% of the attendees go anyway. 

[mpchicago]

I thought it was interesting to see that Switch is a leadership sponsor for ArtPrize.....That's a minimum sponsorship of $100k.

Edited June 6, 2016 by mpchicago

[SupercityGR]

Quick question. Me and wife go to art prize every year but always have trouble finding restrooms open to the public. While walking around looking at all the art sometimes people need to pee. So if someone could name off some public restrooms that would be great. 

[discgrab21]

1 minute ago, SupercityGR said:

Quick question. Me and wife go to art prize every year but always have trouble finding restrooms open to the public. While walking around looking at all the art sometimes people need to pee. So if someone could name off some public restrooms that would be great. 

Rosa Parks Circle @ Monroe and Louis.  I don't know, but I can't imagine they are closed during art-prize.  The lobby of the Amway Grand also comes to mind.

[Gorath]

3 hours ago, SupercityGR said:

Quick question. Me and wife go to art prize every year but always have trouble finding restrooms open to the public. While walking around looking at all the art sometimes people need to pee. So if someone could name off some public restrooms that would be great. 

As discgrab21 said Rosa Parks Circle has a public restroom building.  As does Ah-Nab-Awen Park and Heartside Park.

If you have the Artprize app the map on it can tell you which venues near you have restrooms open to the public.  Or you can use the map at the Artprize website here. On the map click the gear and then check the box for Public Restrooms.

[SupercityGR]

Thank you, that map is a huge help. Does the arena open its lobby?

[Allison Slater]

There's bathrooms in the Monroe entrance of City Hall.  Just go through the doors and to the left.  Also across the street at DeVos Place.

[GRDadof3]

I guess that big tent festival on the riverfront didn't go so well, as they're not back this year.

I did see that there's an ArtPrize street fest going on all day today and tonight in Monroe North by The Garage on Ottawa, called ArtBeat? 

 

[ctpgr34]

Pretty good numbers- http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2016/12/artprize_set_new_records_for_s.html#incart_river_home

 

[mpchicago]

20 hours ago, ctpgr34 said:

Pretty good numbers- http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2016/12/artprize_set_new_records_for_s.html#incart_river_home

 

We brought 2 couples from Illinois, and 1 couple from the east side of the state.  We also did a beer tour and stayed at the Homewood Suites.  We did our part. 

[GRDadof3]

I'm not and cold on ArtPrize every year, but I really thought there was some good work this past year. I obviously like to see the big sensational work along the river, which seemed to be missing this year, but I really enjoyed several of the venues a lot. GRAM particularly I felt was better this year than last. UICA was meh this year. 

[ModSquad]

Art Prize "Officially" starts in two days.  I was just downtown walking around and noted that there are VERY few pieces set up in public spaces.  What gives?  Is there a more intentional attempt  by AP to spread out the art to various venues outside the Central Business District?

[GRDadof3]

34 minutes ago, KCLBADave said:

Art Prize "Officially" starts in two days.  I was just downtown walking around and noted that there are VERY few pieces set up in public spaces.  What gives?  Is there a more intentional attempt  by AP to spread out the art to various venues outside the Central Business District?

Actually, I think the opposite. I think AP has offered funding for outdoor large spectacle works in the CBD, but the number of artists who do this is pretty limited, and very few of them have made the top 10 in the past. 

[GRDadof3]

I'm downtown now I'm seeing quite a few outdoor sculptures...