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ArtPrize and Project 1 - Grand Rapids


GRDadof3

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At this rate of what's being said, I expect by the end of the week that we should expect 10,000,000 visitors, news media from every continent, a visit from the president, MOMA setting up a branch galley on Monroe, 1 billion added to the local economy, and promises of zero unemployment as everyone in town will be working on this!

Mr. Devos should be enthusiastic, but he needs to keep the expectations in check before the enthusiasm suffocates the event.

How can you honestly post this comment? Have you listened to Rick? He has been overly cautious about stating the potential economic impact. I think he and his team have stated very reasonable goals of changing the conversation between artist and public, and fostering creativity. They think that this will lead to inspiration and innovation here in GR and perhaps beyond.

Perhaps others have over hyped it, but I think it's inaccurate to say that the organizers have done so.

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Willy Wonka Golden Ticket Contest!!!!

I absolutely love the parallels. I think it is novel and exciting. Everyone I know is eager to participate in some way--- dinners every night in different parts of town, preview parties of artists that we know to be participating.... ENDLESS options. So fun. Glad we have more hotel rooms in town to accommodate guests--- maybe Craigslist is going to blow up with people subleting for the week or renting out a room for the time!!!!!!!

Word up.

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Whether you love or hate them, you've got to give them props. What the Aristocracy of Grand Rapids, and really western Michigan in General are doing without any real visible incentive other than their own innovation. It's almost as if 30 years ago they invisioned transforming the economy of an entire region. It started with the building of a hotel, From the funds that go to GVSU, to the planting of the seeds of what is turning into a life sciences giant. On an economic standpoint whether you can trace it or not, I'd say there are very few people in metro GR that do not have some kind of impact from all that they have done. It's not always about politics.

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ArtPrize can't possibly be a negative thing for Grand Rapids...lighten up.

This is a true statement, and really the bottom line.

While the hype and event itself were both a bit sad and out of touch, absolutely nothing bad can come from the competition itself, and perhaps a lot of good (!)

Worst-case scenario planning feels goofy, like we are trying to write an episode of "24" or something.

(It looked like a just harmless sculpture, but it was really a way for terrorists to disseminate aerosolized polonium-210 and seize control of the BOB!)

Edited by 201test
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I do feel that DSchoon made a good point: that art sometimes doesn't stay within political boundaries. If the Devos's are going to support this art contest, they had better realize now that it may not always represent what they represent.

The voting on the final 10 will be a closed vote, so - unless there are 10 finalists that fit that category - I'm sure something along those lines would magically "not win" ;)

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The fear of "politically incorrect" art being somehow at a disadvantage is a red herring.

While not an art expert by any means, I have been involved on the periphery and I just don't think it will become an issue. Yes, we can look back on the "Harold Washington in a Dress" controversy in Chicago, the Mapplethorpe pieces, etc., but I just don't see that happening here.

Anything is possible -- someone could do a giant pyramid in Amway colors splashed with the blood and tears of distributors, or something pro-choice or anti-school-choice, etc.

But to expect Rick or the "family" to shut it out without evidence and before anything has even happened is a kind of bigotry and prejudice in its own right.

And hey, if someone did do an "RDV in a Dress" painting, we might end up on CNN yet!

Edited by 201test
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I know everybody here is dying to hear what I think... :D

It's hard to imagine much of a downside to this, and nearly 20 days of tourism is a damn nice boost to the economy (and especially downtown). However, I can't help but feel a little mislead by the hype/teasers leading up to this event. Of course, since Devos was pretty silent, or at least orchestrated careful leaks, it's hard to know what the media made up versus what they were fed. But this hardly feels like it will "make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work." (source) It's a very large weeks-long festival. I can't see a lot of people moving here just because of it...there would have to be JOBS first. Does anyone really think this is going to create dozens of art-centric jobs?

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...it's hard to know what the media made up versus what they were fed. But this hardly feels like it will "make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work."

Yes, agree this was one of the many shortcomings of how this was announced. Mismanaged to the detriment of Rick and his team.

Edited by 201test
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Out of curiosity, do you think that SXSW moves the needle for Austin? Just trying to gauge where your coming from.

And no I'm not saying that this is equal to SXSW, however SXSW did not start out as the mega-event that is currently...

I believe SXSW does make a difference to Austin. I'm not sure I've ever heard someone say they going to look at the art though. Maybe in 10 years this will evolve into something of that magnitude, but that has to be the best of best-of-case scenarios.

Here's my point and why you're getting a backlash from some people: If you were to stand up and say that any altogether positive but to the average person uninteresting event is going to change Grand Rapids for all time, people are going to roll their eyes and probably have a negative reaction to the news in general. This is what is happening. It takes a lot of faith to have the that type of enthusiasm. Don't be offended because people don't share yours.

Edit-I do realize that the organizers aren't pumping this up that huge. But their reps from Seyferth certainly have and so are the people on this forum (I think HUGE was used a couple of times).

Edited by DSchoon
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While I was skeptical of this turning out to be an event after the hype, the strength of this contest is in the details for the Grand Rapids community.

Over the next few years Grand Rapids stands to pick up many world class artworks. It is very possible that through the venue partnerships that some top artists could be commissioned for their entries and that many of the works will remain permanently in and around Grand Rapids. The art work that remains after the event is the year round influence that this project could bring about. A walk through Meijer Gardens is mind boggling to anyone connected to the arts from outside the area. (We live so close to this venue and have watched it develop over time to a point that it is taken for granted almost.) Fast forward a few years and think of the downtown canvas that could develop as a result of this competition.

It certainly should make for an interesting couple weeks this fall with the open definition of "Art".

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I think a lot of the debate, disappointment, and flaming comes from individuals' own perceptions of the importance and influence of art. If you've never come to appreciate a good stroll through the GRAM, music festival, independent film, and so on, you're probably amongst the nay-posters. Like somebody mentioned, it would be a great idea to incorporate events or attract acts that appeal to the non-art-loving crowd. Or, something that makes these individuals appreciate or see art like they've never seen it before. You can't be everything to everybody, but art is such a blanket concept and everybody should be able to find something to get excited about.

On the other side of the divide there are millions who will drive or fly half way across the world to experience an artistic attraction. When I went to Rothbury last year, we met people who drove from Alaska, flew from Europe, and walked from 10 miles down the road. All this effort to experience art. Look at how that event (4 days, mind you) impacted the village. Since the inaugural Rothbury, numerous fan/discussion sites have sprung up filled with people talking about the event and news about it pops up in publications across the world.

From releases and interest in the last 24 hours about artprize, I think that this is something larger than many realize simply due to their perceptions of the value of art as a whole. I'll throw down some money that October 11 will roll around and the whole city will have a new take on art and where it can take us.

In response to MuskeMI, I do think that it can create many art-centric jobs. Think about some jobs tied to art...

Graphic Design/Marketing & Promotion/Brand management

Web design

Movie Production & acting - combined w/ tax breaks could be huge

Music performance & production

Performance art

Photography - after all, we have a beautiful region

Painting/Sculpture - probably the most associated with "art" but one of the smallest segments (market size)

Architecture/Interior Design - complimented with some of the great architecture we have in GR

Consulting

Fashion design & production

Literature & Poetry

Art History and Education - now we start talking about art schools and museums

Then, there are the infrastructure jobs that support the event and any spin-off jobs that it could create...

Just a list of the top of my head, but I'm sure there are more. I'm not saying that this will all happen, but possible.

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I believe SXSW does make a difference to Austin. I'm not sure I've ever heard someone say they going to look at the art though. Maybe in 10 years this will evolve into something of that magnitude, but that has to be the best of best-of-case scenarios.

Here's my point and why you're getting a backlash from some people: If you were to stand up and say that any altogether positive but to the average person uninteresting event is going to change Grand Rapids for all time, people are going to roll their eyes and probably have a negative reaction to the news in general. This is what is happening. It takes a lot of faith to have the that type of enthusiasm. Don't be offended because people don't share yours.

Edit-I do realize that the organizers aren't pumping this up that huge. But their reps from Seyferth certainly have and so are the people on this forum (I think HUGE was used a couple of times).

I went back and reread all the articles, and none of Rick's representatives said this would "change Grand Rapids for all time." It was mentioned that:

) it would "connect Grand Rapids with the world like it has never been connected before" - sure, from an art publicity standpoint, I'd buy that. Meijer Gardens has done much of the same thing.

) it would be "an extremely large scale event": 3 square miles of downtown, and about 20 times larger than Festival, that sounds pretty large scale (HUGE) to me.

) "It is expected to be part of ongoing efforts by local leaders to project a progressive, hip image of Grand Rapids that will make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work.": that's certainly debateable, but there are studies that tie "quality of life" metrics to population/job growth. And this is looked at as one "piece" of that, as directly quoted from one of the reps. A+B=C or E=mc2

) "This will be a huge event, world-class,": The prize purse certainly sets the stage for world-class

) "It will effect Grand Rapids for years to come": I'm assuming the goal is to do this annually, for "years to come"

Unless someone has any pieces of info that are contrary to this.

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I think a lot of the debate, disappointment, and flaming comes from individuals' own perceptions of the importance and influence of art. If you've never come to appreciate a good stroll through the GRAM, music festival, independent film, and so on, you're probably amongst the nay-posters. Like somebody mentioned, it would be a great idea to incorporate events or attract acts that appeal to the non-art-loving crowd. Or, something that makes these individuals appreciate or see art like they've never seen it before. You can't be everything to everybody, but art is such a blanket concept and everybody should be able to find something to get excited about.

On the other side of the divide there are millions who will drive or fly half way across the world to experience an artistic attraction. When I went to Rothbury last year, we met people who drove from Alaska, flew from Europe, and walked from 10 miles down the road. All this effort to experience art. Look at how that event (4 days, mind you) impacted the village. Since the inaugural Rothbury, numerous fan/discussion sites have sprung up filled with people talking about the event and news about it pops up in publications across the world.

From releases and interest in the last 24 hours about artprize, I think that this is something larger than many realize simply due to their perceptions of the value of art as a whole. I'll throw down some money that October 11 will roll around and the whole city will have a new take on art and where it can take us.

In response to MuskeMI, I do think that it can create many art-centric jobs. Think about some jobs tied to art...

Graphic Design/Marketing & Promotion/Brand management

Web design

Movie Production & acting - combined w/ tax breaks could be huge

Music performance & production

Performance art

Photography - after all, we have a beautiful region

Painting/Sculpture - probably the most associated with "art" but one of the smallest segments (market size)

Architecture/Interior Design - complimented with some of the great architecture we have in GR

Consulting

Fashion design & production

Literature & Poetry

Art History and Education - now we start talking about art schools and museums

Then, there are the infrastructure jobs that support the event and any spin-off jobs that it could create...

Just a list of the top of my head, but I'm sure there are more. I'm not saying that this will all happen, but possible.

I do know there are already a number of people who want to tie in other events around this time period. Arts-related and not so arts related. I think we'll see an explosion of events to coincide.

It seems a lot of people aren't happy unless a googleplex comes to town. :rolleyes: Ann Arbor landed Google and they're still shedding thousands of jobs.

So everyone wipe away their tears and let's get pumped for this event (or check out if you don't care about it).

Word.

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After digesting the news I change my feeling from underwhelmed to completely excited.

Its a win situation; its totally funded by a private insititution. Its not a request for taxpayer money. Its going to be an event where it pulls people from out of town into the city pumping money into the GR economy. It isn't a Whitecaps game where it pulls metro GR for games. This will pull in from a much larger area.

Let's say it drastically underperforms and only brings 50,000 people the first year, I think in terms of money invested (the $500k purse) you bring it at least that much money. Just imagine as the event builds momentum and you're bringing 1 million or more a yeah for the ArtPrize time period. That just seems to me that it can either be a mini-boost to the city at worst or a huge multi-week event at best.

I hope that the GR arts community really gears up for this. I'd like to see some GR artists make the top ten; it would be some great recognition.

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I think a lot of the debate, disappointment, and flaming comes from individuals' own perceptions of the importance and influence of art. If you've never come to appreciate a good stroll through the GRAM, music festival, independent film, and so on, you're probably amongst the nay-posters. Like somebody mentioned, it would be a great idea to incorporate events or attract acts that appeal to the non-art-loving crowd. Or, something that makes these individuals appreciate or see art like they've never seen it before. You can't be everything to everybody, but art is such a blanket concept and everybody should be able to find something to get excited about.

On the other side of the divide there are millions who will drive or fly half way across the world to experience an artistic attraction. When I went to Rothbury last year, we met people who drove from Alaska, flew from Europe, and walked from 10 miles down the road. All this effort to experience art. Look at how that event (4 days, mind you) impacted the village. Since the inaugural Rothbury, numerous fan/discussion sites have sprung up filled with people talking about the event and news about it pops up in publications across the world.

From releases and interest in the last 24 hours about artprize, I think that this is something larger than many realize simply due to their perceptions of the value of art as a whole. I'll throw down some money that October 11 will roll around and the whole city will have a new take on art and where it can take us.

In response to MuskeMI, I do think that it can create many art-centric jobs. Think about some jobs tied to art...

Graphic Design/Marketing & Promotion/Brand management

Web design

Movie Production & acting - combined w/ tax breaks could be huge

Music performance & production

Performance art

Photography - after all, we have a beautiful region

Painting/Sculpture - probably the most associated with "art" but one of the smallest segments (market size)

Architecture/Interior Design - complimented with some of the great architecture we have in GR

Consulting

Fashion design & production

Literature & Poetry

Art History and Education - now we start talking about art schools and museums

Then, there are the infrastructure jobs that support the event and any spin-off jobs that it could create...

Just a list of the top of my head, but I'm sure there are more. I'm not saying that this will all happen, but possible.

You, and jrwquattro have completely sold me on this.

This is what the entire announcement should have been. Using the language of giving reasonable benefits and results sure beats sky-high hype or "get on board or get lost" rhetoric any day!

Edited by GR_Urbanist
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Great observation! I agree 100%. It may seem status quo to us because we will see it daily, but to the outside world, it will have a greater impact.

Joe

While I was skeptical of this turning out to be an event after the hype, the strength of this contest is in the details for the Grand Rapids community.

Over the next few years Grand Rapids stands to pick up many world class artworks. It is very possible that through the venue partnerships that some top artists could be commissioned for their entries and that many of the works will remain permanently in and around Grand Rapids. The art work that remains after the event is the year round influence that this project could bring about. A walk through Meijer Gardens is mind boggling to anyone connected to the arts from outside the area. (We live so close to this venue and have watched it develop over time to a point that it is taken for granted almost.) Fast forward a few years and think of the downtown canvas that could develop as a result of this competition.

It certainly should make for an interesting couple weeks this fall with the open definition of "Art".

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This is what the entire announcement should have been. Using the language of giving reasonable benefits and results sure beats sky-high hype or "get on board or get lost" rhetoric any day!

Indeed.

The build up to the announcement irked me, and an inbox full of messages using identical language to tell me this was a 'Big Deal', left me with the impression that I was being sold something I might not want. But it's starting to grow on me...

It's very early in the process, so specific critiques are probably foolish, but I do have one issue that I hope they address. An event like SXSW is continually successful because everything about it reinforces the idea that Austin is the Place for that event. The name (at least from my spot on the map), the bands, and the surrounding culture all make sense in that specific location. The use of the Calder is a small nod to this concern, hinting at the impressive collection of sculptures already assembled around town, but is there much else to tie together location and event? If this event proves a success, what

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I went back and reread all the articles, and none of Rick's representatives said this would "change Grand Rapids for all time." It was mentioned that:

) it would "connect Grand Rapids with the world like it has never been connected before" - sure, from an art publicity standpoint, I'd buy that. Meijer Gardens has done much of the same thing.

) it would be "an extremely large scale event": 3 square miles of downtown, and about 20 times larger than Festival, that sounds pretty large scale (HUGE) to me.

) "It is expected to be part of ongoing efforts by local leaders to project a progressive, hip image of Grand Rapids that will make it a more attractive place for young, creative people to live and work.": that's certainly debateable, but there are studies that tie "quality of life" metrics to population/job growth. And this is looked at as one "piece" of that, as directly quoted from one of the reps. A+B=C or E=mc2

) "This will be a huge event, world-class,": The prize purse certainly sets the stage for world-class

) "It will effect Grand Rapids for years to come": I'm assuming the goal is to do this annually, for "years to come"

Unless someone has any pieces of info that are contrary to this.

I'm not sure how to respond. It seems like you're agreeing with the naysayers.

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I think a lot of the debate, disappointment, and flaming comes from individuals' own perceptions of the importance and influence of art.

Amen.

The people in my circle (Information Technology) range from art-obsessed web designers who think this is the great thing to ever happen in the history of the world (not quite, but close) to system-administrators who aren't sure they'll even bother "heading downtown to check it out."

Truth is, whether art affects and inspires you or not, it's a truly huge industry, one of the oldest on earth if you think about it. Having the world's largest art prize is a truly big deal, of global proportions.

People flew from all over the world to Deroit for those first couple DEMF festivals. That was the type of thing that puts a city on the map (much more so than Rothbury really). I think this has potential on that level, and metro-Grand Rapids is still only 1/5th the size of metro-Detroit... so to get that kind of tourist traffic here would have a substantially larger impact on the health of our region.

I think the people who aren't excited about this really don't need to be for ArtPrize to be a success. The only people who need to be fired up already are, and will be here to make it work.

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I have to admitt that this is an awesome idea. I hope this event becomes a huge hit annually. Although I do feel that DSchoon made a good point: that art sometimes doesn't stay within political boundaries. If the Devos's are going to support this art contest, they had better realize now that it may not always represent what they represent.

do we really know what rick devos' political leanings are. I know that my personal beliefs aren't the same as my grandparents. you can not assume that he has the same beliefs as the people that came before him. I think that the DeVos's realize that when they make such an open art competition that they wouldn't get a bunch of paintings of jesus and puppies. artists by nature are more liberal, anyone over the age of three knows this and would expect the art to represent this, especially when it is going to be a national competition.

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