Tag Archives: ArtPrize

A Flying Jewel: Two artists share love of art and science through seven-foot “Pixels of Life” mosaic

April 17, 20243-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Going Local, Kent County, Voices, West MichiganAaron Liepman, Art, ArtPrize, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community, hummingbird, Katie Hammond, Kent District Library, LEGO, Pixels of Life, scienceDeborah Reed

“Pixels of Life” can be found at the Wyoming Branch of Kent District Library (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

Using 10,000 hand-painted LEGO bricks, artist Aaron Liepman created the seven-foot hummingbird mosaic, Pixels of Life, that now hangs at the Wyoming Branch of Kent District Library (KDL).

The ruby-throated hummingbird is set to a 10-foot backdrop of a giant pink coneflower painted in a pixel style by Ann Arbor Visual Artist Katie Hammond.

Aaron Liepman (left) and Katie Hammond with their creation, Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)

Liepman entered the piece in ArtPrize 2023 and is happy the piece is now on display for the public.

“Pixels of Life was created to be shared and to be seen,” said Liepman. “I hope that library patrons, young and old, enjoy interacting with it as much as Katie and I enjoyed creating it.”

**Art and science…together?**

Liepman and Hammond share more than artistic talent – both artists also love science.

A biology professor at Eastern Michigan University, Liepman says he was aware of an artistic side of his personality when he was young.

“I really enjoyed art class, but also went pretty hardcore into science.”

Hammond admitted to always having an interest in science. “I almost majored in biology instead of doing art in undergrad. The combining of science with art is something that I really enjoy.”

When Liepman reached out to Hammond about needing a backdrop for his hummingbird mosaic, Hammond couldn’t resist the opportunity to combine art and science.

The creation of a flying jewel

Pixels of Life is Liepman’s third ArtPrize entry.

“I love hummingbirds,” said Liepman. “They’re the most incredible creatures. So much color. The highlight of summer for me is watching hummingbirds at the feeders and appreciating how beautiful and agile and brilliant they are.”

Aaron Liepman with “Ruby” (Courtesy, Aaron Liepman)

Feathers on the neck of the male ruby-throated hummingbird can look either black or ruby red depending on the angle.

“If they turn, they can go from black to the greatest, most brilliant ruby that you’ve ever seen – and it’s immediate,” said Liepman. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Creating a Hummingbird mosaic, however, was not easy.

“It was so incredibly difficult because trying to reduce the color palette of this bird, of this flying jewel, down to a manageable number that I could create in my studio was just an exercise in futility.

“I did my best. This one has more colors than anything I’ve ever made before; it had 70 colors.”

However, Liepman knew his hummingbird was not complete – it needed a backdrop. But he did not have time to build an 8-foot flower out of LEGOs.

“When I was thinking of another way we could get a flower for this bird, I thought of Katie,” said Liepman. “I asked her what she thought of making a giant 10-foot painting. I thought it would be fun to have mixed media.”

A giant painting? No problem!

Liepman gave Hammond free reign over creation of the backdrop.

“Aaron giving me free reign, that’s always exciting, but it’s also intimidating,” said Hammond. “When you have the whole world of possibilities open, you have to think what’s going to look best in the end.”

She brainstormed for weeks before deciding to paint one of the hummingbirds’ favorite foods, the coneflower, in the style of Aaron’s LEGOs.

Hammond also wanted the backdrop to be modular.

“I wanted it to be made up of a lot of different little tiles, or pieces, so that it would mimic and mirror the feel of the Lego piece.”

However, painting a 10×10-foot canvas with squares the size of LEGOs was not feasible in the time allotted. Instead, Hammond chose to magnify the scale and paint much bigger squares.

“I painted all the squares different colors to match a photograph of a pixelated coneflower,” said Hammond. “I thought it was a fun way to relate to LEGOs. I wanted to do something that would connect them stylistically and thematically.”

Click on the slideshow arrows (located on right and left sides of each picture) below to view the complete process of creating the Pixels of Life backdrop (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)

Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)
Pixels of Life (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)

Every story has a beginning…

Liepman’s fascination with LEGO art began after seeing a LEGO wall mosaic in Chicago.

“I hadn’t seen anything like that before and was fascinated. I had never considered LEGOs as a 2-dimensional art form. I knew I wanted to try to create some art in that medium.”

Liepman decided to start with a small project, but quickly realized his “small” project needed to be quite a bit larger than expected.

“This is a thing that many people don’t understand about this art form,” said Liepman. “A screen resolution, that’s 72 dots per inch. When you’re thinking about a LEGO brick, a LEGO pixel, you get approximately 3.4. Your smallest details – if you need a single pixel for something – that smallest detail relative to the overall size of your composition means that things are going to get bigger than you think.”

Liepman’s “small project” became 20 inches square – and consisted of 1,024 LEGO pieces.

He also realized that he needed more colors than the LEGO palette offered.

Liepman began to paint LEGOs, experimenting with spray paint, then airbrushing with craft paints. Finally, he settled on artist-grade acrylic paints.

“There were a lot of things I learned by doing that first piece,” said Liepman. “When I stepped away from it though, I was like, wow, look what I made. There were no instructions, and I figured this out myself. I bet I could do more. I bet I could do better.”

Each mosaic taught him a little bit more. “I was making them bigger and more complex, and they were looking better and better. I didn’t get here in a day; it took me a long time.”

Much of Liepman’s time is spent formulating colors.

His first grayscale mosaic, Watchful, is 45 inches square and has 12 levels of gray, black and white. With the increased levels of grayscale, Liepman realized he could make the mosaics appear lifelike.

“When you can step away from the actual piece by about 20 feet, it looks like the feathers are soft, which completely blows my mind because every single piece is a geometric angular thing.”

“TB10” – Tom Brady (Courtesy, Aaron Liepman)

Two of Liepman’s pieces have been auctioned at charity events – one being an autographed mosaic of Tom Brady.

“It’s been fun to be able to also give back to the community and to support good causes through my creativity.”

Commissions allow Liepman to afford the materials to continue creating and donate a piece from time to time to a good cause.

“These pieces really need to be seen and appreciated,” said Liepman. “It’s fun for me to have the opportunity to share these artworks with people because they don’t know what to think of them.”

20 years of funky…

Aaron Liepman (left) and Katie Hammond with Pixels of Life at Brush Studio in Grand Rapids (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)

Hammond says she has been an artist her entire life.

A dancer and visual artist as a child, Hammond then received a bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan art school, followed by a master’s degree in fine arts at the Art Institute of Chicago.

She is now the owner and manager of a communal studio called Ann Arbor Artist Studios.

Hammond describes her painting style as “funky.”

“What I mainly do is acrylic painting on canvas and velvet,” said Hammond. “I like to experiment with a mixed media or non-traditional painting approach, using things like glitter, markers, or more experimental fabrics.

“My painting style is representational but it’s not realistic. It’s stylized and fun and poppy and bright colors and simplified.”

Hammond has completed several commissioned works featuring families and animals, two of her favorite subjects. She also paints murals, completing a large exterior mural in downtown Ann Arbor.

Hammond appreciates the ability to express herself through art – but also the connection it brings.

“From little kids through elderly people…I really enjoy being able to connect with all types of people through my art,” said Hammond. “The most rewarding thing about [art] is being able to see people have a positive experience with your work.”

Hammond says she purposely creates art people can recognize and connect with on some level.

“Powerful” is a depiction of Wonder Woman and can be found at the Grandville Branch of KDL. It was a community project led by Liepman in 2022 (Courtesy, Aaron Liepman)

“Anybody can do this; I’m not a genius”

Liepman hopes his artistic journey encourages other people who love art.

“Anybody can do this; I’m not a genius,” said Liepman. “I started with no experience. “I figured out that I could do something, and I kept leveraging the lessons I learned, thinking my way through problems and trying to come up with solutions. Bit by bit I have come up with a process.

“But it didn’t happen right away. It took a lot of practice. I figured out a process, and I’ve refined it over and over. After a while, you get good at stuff if you keep doing it.”

“Revolutionary” (Courtesy, Aaron Liepman)

How to find Pixels of Life

Pixels of Life can be viewed in the teen area of KDL’s Wyoming Branch.

Liepman encourages people to view Pixels of Life from up close and far away so they can appreciate various details.

Share in the wonder of art and science

Aaron Liepman shares his artwork via Brickmaniac.com and Instagram. Liepman is also accepting commissions.

More information and examples of Katie Hammond’s work can be found on her website, Instagram and Facebook. Hammond is available for murals and other commissions.

ArtPrize exhibits continue to amaze visitors in final week, artists reveal stories behind their creations

September 26, 20233-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Going Local, Local Business, Our Cities, West MichiganArt, art competition, art exhibits, ArtPrize, Grand RapidsDeborah Reed

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

The final week of the ArtPrize exhibition and competition has begun, but there is still time to view all creative works at various public venues in downtown Grand Rapids.

“Balsagrom” by Aron Balorda, as displayed at The B.O.B restaurant and entertainment venue (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

From Sept. 14 – Oct. 1, artwork from 950 artists are displayed at 150 public venues across the city.

Visitors were able to vote for their favorite works, with the top 25 finalists announced Sept. 22. The competition side of ArtPrize will wrap up on Sept. 29 at Rosa Parks Circle with a reveal of the $125,000 Public Vote Grand Prize winner.

But ArtPrize is more than just public votes and cash prizes.

“Everyone needs times of connection and belonging,” the ArtPrize website states. “The thrill of being part of something bigger than ourselves. The jubilant intersection of creativity, fellowship, and wonder.”

Founded in 2009, ArtPrize was immediately established as a cultural phenomenon by grabbing the attention of artists and art critics worldwide. Not only did this annual event provide artists an opportunity to display their creations, ArtPrize also inspired conversations and engaged imaginations.

Driftwood, rocks and agates – oh my!

Pasha Ruggles poses with “Adam” portrayed as the movie character Groot (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Pasha Ruggles, resident of Oceana County and creator of “MI-Eden,” felt that spark of imagination while on a Michigan beach with her children in 2015.

“I was on the beach with my kids and they asked me to carry some driftwood,” said Ruggles. “When I threw it in the back of my vehicle…it landed just-so and I thought, ‘That looks like a fish. I’ll make a fish out of that.’”

Ruggles shrugged and smiled. “That’s how it started. And here I am,” she said, gesturing toward the multiple creations surrounding her.

A portrayal of the tree and snake in the biblical creation story (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

“MI-Eden,” which can be found outside the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, is composed of wood, stones and agates from Michigan streams and lakes.

Eden’s “Adam” is portrayed by Groot, and if visitors look closely they will see an apple dangling from one of Groot’s hands.

Accompanying “Adam” are a variety of animals. “MI-Eden” also incorporates a tree and snake from the biblical account of creation.

Finding solace in nature’s artwork

A “MI-Eden” eagle appears ready to take flight (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Ruggles said that many visitors and passersby think she carved the lifelike pieces in “MI-Eden,” but the artist said she does not shape the wood she finds.

“Nature shapes it and I just put it together,” said Ruggles.

Though Ruggles admits that she fell into art “by accident,” she has also found solace in her work.

“I absolutely love it,” said Ruggles. “It’s more therapeutic than anything to me. Walking on the beach, finding the stuff. If I’m not looking for driftwood, I’m looking for rocks.”

Natural elements and mixed media

Artist Tom Gifford with his 3D mixed media creation titled “MI Light” (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Muskegon resident Tom Gifford also finds beauty and peace in Michigan’s natural elements.

Gifford’s 3D creation can be found at Biggby Coffee in Grand Rapids. Titled “MI Light,” the exhibit strives to display the beauty of Michigan through various forms of art.

Two photographs Gifford took himself create the Michigan outline, while the base takes the shape of a lighthouse with a light that comes on after dark.

“I like how much of a challenge it is to fit what you think of Michigan into one piece,” said Gifford.

Gifford wanted more to portray more than just a sunset for “MI Light,” and worked to incorporate all of the state’s natural elements: cliffs, sandstone, rocky beaches and clear water.

The lighthouse base was formed from pallet wood Gifford salvaged from dumpsters and then burned with a torch to give it an antique facade.

A change in plans and sleepless nights

Gifford admitted that the photograph forming Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was only taken a few weeks prior to the beginning of ArtPrize. Not quite happy with the picture he had already picked out for the mural, Gifford took one more trip up to Pictured Rocks.

As night falls, a light will illuminate the top of the lighthouse (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

He found his perfect photo, but Gifford said that, “when I order the print, it takes weeks to get the print. So it was the Tuesday before ArtPrize and I was cutting it out and getting ready. It was a lot of last minute work.”

Gifford said that last minute work on his creations is not unusual.

“I’m not just going to get it done and over with, I’m going to put every ounce of energy I’ve got into it,” said Gifford. “It definitely takes a toll on you after a while. [There are]a lot of sleepless nights.”

Michigan memories

Gifford also created a small room in the lighthouse base just big enough for two people to stand inside. Sticky notes and pens are available so visitors can post a note of what brings light to their lives.

“People can write their own favorite Michigan memory on the wall,” said Gifford, adding that he plans to make a collage out of all the notes once ArtPrize is finished.

Gifford says he likes hearing people inside the small room.

“They are reading stuff and laughing and having fun,” said Gifford. “It makes it nice and interactive.”

To find information on artists, exhibit locations, and to keep up-to-date on events, visit artprize.org.

ArtPrize finalist exhibit celebrates women leaders and warriors

September 26, 2023Citizen JournalismArt, ArtPrize, Grand RapidsDeborah Reed

Ryan McCallister’s sculpture, “Count on Me,” is one of 25 finalists in ArtPrize this year (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

Ryan McCallister always knew art would be his destiny (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

The annual international art competition, ArtPrize, is an 18-day event in Grand Rapids that exhibits art in galleries, storefronts, parks, museums, and public venues of all kinds. This year, ArtPrize features 950 artists and 150 exhibition venues.

One such artist is sculptor Ryan McCallister.

“Count On Me” is an eight-foot tall and eight-foot wide 3D warrior goddess sculpture made of stainless steel, river rock, and stained glass. Inspired by Valkyries and angels, McCallister created “Count On Me” to celebrate women leaders and warriors who exuded courage and power.

Based out of Cave Creek, Arizona, McCallister always knew art would be his destiny.

“I need to pour my soul into something, and my sculptures are a distillation of those desires,” McCallister said in his ArtPrize bio. “Each work of art is an attempt at showcasing human stories and potential, while highlighting the magic that comes from searching for deeper meaning in life.”

McCallister hopes his sculptures transport the viewer to another reality, and that they feel the passion and magic of his works.

ArtPrize is free, open to the public, and celebrates ideas, conversations, experimentation, and inclusiveness.

“Count On Me” can be found outside the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, 187 Monroe NW, Grand Rapids.

It’s a wrap for ArtPrize, a new initiative is planned

October 27, 20223-bottom, Hard News, Kent County, Local Business, Non-Profits, Our CitiesArt, ArtPrize, endsJoanne

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

“Elephant Chunko” by Kristina Libby from ArtPrize 2022 (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

ArtPrize will make a catalytic gift of its creative, technological and communications platforms to a new partnership for a new experiment that will build upon the legacy of the international art competition, effectively “ArtPrize 2.0.” Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI), the City of Grand Rapids and KCAD will collectively lead this new initiative.

In a statement today, the ArtPrize board of directors expressed deep appreciation to the entire community for 13 years of partnership and support as it winds down its operations.

“What started as an experiment in 2009 quickly became something more, and we have an entire community to thank for embracing the ArtPrize idea and taking it to amazing heights,” said ArtPrize Founder and Chairman Rick DeVos said in a press release. “Together, we were able to stimulate thought and creativity by celebrating art, supporting artists, exploring familiar and not-so-familiar venues, and starting entirely new conversations.

“While there are certainly mixed emotions, we know the time is right to conclude the original ArtPrize experiment and open up space for new energy and creativity. We are thrilled that the partnership of DGRI, KCAD, and the City of Grand Rapids is stepping forward to continue to produce an incredible fall event.”

Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss echoed those sentiments.

“Every destination community has a destination event that captures the spirit and aspirations of that community. For us, ArtPrize has been a manifestation of the independent creative spirit that defines Grand Rapids, and has captured the imagination of people from around the world,” she said. “Rick DeVos and the ArtPrize Board have laid out a roadmap and a foundation that we’re grateful for and excited to build upon.”

ArtPrize has held 13 events since 2009 and awarded more than $6 million through a combination of public votes, juried awards and grants. Millions of people across the globe have participated in ArtPrize in some fashion – displaying their work, performing, opening their spaces, volunteering, or visiting and enjoying Grand Rapids each fall.

For 18 days each year, art was exhibited throughout the city in public parks and museums, in galleries and storefronts, in bars and on bridges. ArtPrize annually awarded $450,000 directly to artists.

Ran Ortner, with his “Open Water no.24,” was the original ArtPrize grand prize winner in 2009, as determined by public vote. He netted $250,000 for the honor, the largest monetary art prize at the time. In 2010, four juried awards were added to the competition and ArtPrize continued to evolve over the years to keep the experience fresh and surprising. A list of all ArtPrize winners can be found here.

For more information, visit ArtPrize.org/future.

Tribute to K9 officer part of this year’s ArtPrize

September 29, 20223-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Kent County, Non-Profits, Our Cities, Pets/Animals, West MichiganArtPrize, K9, Kent County, tributeJoanne

By Jodi Miesen
WKTV Contributing Writer

Artist Kathie Van Hekken and Kent County Sheriff Officer Krystal Stuart shown with the portrait of Axel created by Van Hekken. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

When Rockford resident Kathie Van Hekken learned about the death of Kent County Sheriff K9 officer Axel, it spurred her into action.

“I saw it on TV the day he died,” said the 76-year-old artist of Axel, who died from an undiagnosed heart condition while tracking a suspect in August of 2021. “And I love dogs. I love pets. I know I have the skill to draw them…And I thought you know what? I could take something so sad and I can do some good with this.”

Her something good was the creation of a 44- by 44-inch color pencil portrait of Axel that is currently part of the 2022 ArtPrize exhibit. The piece hangs at the First (Park) Congregational Church, 10 E. Park Place NE.

A late bloomer in art

Van Hekken discovered her passion for art later in life, after stumbling upon it about seven years ago. Her mother was an artist who dabbled in oil paintings. Van Hekken had inherited her mother’s art supplies when she passed away in 2005, but it wasn’t until years into her retirement that Van Hekken finally got them out.

Artist Kathie Van Hekken admits her passion for art started several years after she retired as an engineer. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

“I went to one of those wine and women kind of things,” she said. “I took my paintings and I showed them to the teacher, and I asked if he could teach me what I was missing. And that’s when I started learning.”

She shared her desire to be “good enough” someday to be an ArtPrize artist and with encouragement from that teacher it happened in 2015 when Van Hekken entered her hand drawn, nine feet tall sunflowers.

Making a connection

Through a mutual acquaintance, Van Hekken reached out to Axel’s handler, Kent County Sheriff Officer Krystal Stuart about getting permission to create the piece.

“She told me how big it was going to be and I was like, ‘What?’” Stuart said. “Like, I didn’t even know that was possible, especially for like color pencil, like a drawing, you know. I was like, ‘How is this even going to be a thing?’”

Van Hekken admitted once she got Stuart’s permission, the project was a little nerve wracking as she wanted to do “a really good job.” Stuart was with her every step of the way, coming over regularly to see the piece as it progressed in its various stages and to let Van Hekken know she was heading in the right direction.

“The first conversation we had, we talked,” Van Hekken said. “She told me stories. I’ve learned that I have to know what I’m drawing. If I have an emotional attachment, it will come out. You know, when people say that I captured Axel, that’s because she made sure I knew Axel, even though I had never met him.

‘Hi, Axel’

Through this process and utilizing one of Stuart’s favorite pictures of Axel, slowly he emerged through the drawing.

The portrait of Axel that artist Katie Van Hekken used for her piece. (WKTV/Jodi Miesen)

“I think I had his ears and a little bit of his face,” she said. “And I had sketched in his mouth and I could see him for the first time for me, other than a photograph. And it was like, ‘Hi Axel.’ And I cried for him. It was just really emotional. It still is.”

It took Van Hekken about seven months to complete the massive art piece and as soon as it was, the first person she had to see it was Stuart.

“She was quiet,” Van Hekken said. “She just stood quietly and looked at it. It was very, very touching.”

And for Van Hekken, Stuart’s reaction was payment enough.

“She did a phenomenal job capturing his essence,” Stuart said. “He had that, like I say, twinkle in his eye, which sounds so cliché, but he really did when he was not in work mode. He had this goofy, like ‘I’m a big doofus look in his eye.’ And then when he was working, it just went black.”

Celebrating Kent County Sheriff’s K9 unit

Van Hekken said she chose Axel not only to honor him, but to raise awareness and money for the donation-based K9 Unit. Currently, there are 10 Kent County Sheriff K9s covering most of the county. The animals are trained to detect explosives, track suspects, secure buildings, or may be used as a compliance tool. Axel was the department’s first explosive detection dog.

Van Hekken said she had cards made with Axel’s portrait on them that she handed out when people visit her exhibit. The cards include a QR code to make a donation directly to the Kent County K9 Unit.

“She wanted to tell Axel’s story,” Stuart said. “She wanted to explain what the process was of getting Axel, what happened to Axel, the work that we put in and how much these K-9s actually do for our community.

“Because it’s not just having them and showing off and whatnot. I mean, they find missing children, they find vulnerable adults, suspects in places that we won’t. They protect our officers in different everyday situations.”

Sharing with the community who loved him

After ArtPrize, VanHekken will give the piece to Stuart, who hopes to donate it to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. Stuart said she wants to share Axel with the community since he was “everybody’s dog.” Stuart is hoping to get approval to have it installed in the new North substation, which is scheduled to open in 2023 in Cedar Springs. Stuart said the location is fitting since northern Kent County was their home base “and those are the residents that had seen him the most.”

Van Hekken said she’s proud to be a part of the project. For her, it was a labor of love.

“I never entered ArtPrize thinking I would win, she said. “I just wanted to do something good. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to call attention to the K9 Unit and Axel.”

And with a satisfied smile adding. “I’m already the winner.”

How to get inspired by visiting this year’s ArtPrize

September 23, 20223-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Going Local, Recreation, Upcoming Events2022, ArtPrize, Blue Bridge, Gerald R. Ford President Museum, Grand Rapids, VeteransJoanne

Artwork submitted to the “Voices” project (WKTV/D.A. Reeds)
“Dreams” is the piece artists Pamela Aldern and Michael Hyacinthe submitted. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)
A close-up of the ribbon wall in the “Voices” exhibit. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)
“Dreams” by Pamela Alderman and Michael Hyacinthe (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

By D.A. Reed
WKTV Contributing Writer

From aesthetics, to healing, to raising awareness of important global issues, ArtPrize 2022 offers something for everyone.

“Elephant Chunko” by Kristina Libby (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

“It’s well known that (people) can create a piece of art and…speak through the art, tell the story, tell the emotion, tell the journey through the art. That can be a very healing thing,” Pamela Alderman, artist and 12-year ArtPrize participant, told WKTV.

Since its inception in 2009, the international art competition ArtPrize has drawn millions of people to Grand Rapids and sparked endless conversations about art and why it matters.

Through Oct. 2, visitors have a chance to experience art in ways they never have before. During the 18-day event, art is exhibited throughout Grand Rapids, from public parks and museums, to galleries and vacant storefronts, to inside bars and on bridges.

Taking a stroll to see what can be seen

This particular reporter spent an enjoyable afternoon scouring the streets and venues of downtown Grand Rapids for art and found much more than was expected.

During her walk, the tutor meet Desert Storm veteran Aaron Ball who is showing his piece at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

In a city already immersed in art, with performance halls, event arenas, and ground-to-rooftop murals decorating several outside walls of businesses and apartment buildings, ArtPrize enhances what Grand Rapids already has to offer.

As I walked from one end of the city to the other, gazing at incredible displays of art of every genre imaginable, I also tuned in to the people. Excitement dominated each venue and exhibit, with art enthusiasts alternating between intensity as they studied the exhibits and displays to gasps of amazement and delight. ArtPrize visitors ranged from young to old, and sported school groups, guests tightly clutching maps while trying to find their way, and others who were clearly natives to the area, striding with confidence and purpose.

But visitors are not the only ones to gain something from ArtPrize.

Using art to give people a ‘voice’

Veterans, led by artist and veteran wife Alderman, and veteran and entrepreneur Michael Hyacinthe, have found healing through art and community.

“Sometimes, when people are traumatized, they can’t put that trauma into words,” Alderman said, “but they can help work through that trauma through an art experience or creative opportunity.” Alderman went on to explain how stress is stored in the mind, but creative outlets can help release that stress.

“Art may not heal the whole person, but it certainly is instrumental in helping to begin that healing journey, or help to continue that healing journey,” said Alderman.

This collection of art by veterans can be found at Veterans Memorial Park and is titled Voices. Partnered with Kent County Veterans Services, Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, and Hyacinthe’s non-profit Has Heart, Alderman and Hyacinthe’s Voices project is raising awareness for veterans while simultaneously providing a pathway to healing and creating a place for veterans to experience hope.

But Alderman and Hyacinthe wanted to do more. “We wanted to inspire dreams, to inspire kids to keep dreaming, keep thinking big, keep reaching for the stars,” Alderman said.

Inspiration knows no age

While venue curators of Voices, Alderman and Hyacinthe also entered ArtPrize as contestants. Their exhibit, Dreams, allowed children to send in drawings that the artists then turned into a large mural.

“The way children communicate also inspires adults. They’re so vulnerable, so honest, and so innocent that they also end up inspiring adults,” said Alderman.

It inspired this reporter. Veterans Memorial Park was my first stop, and I was not disappointed. Among the opportunity to view breathtaking artwork, I was able to meet and chat with Desert Storm veteran Aaron Bull, and also write a note on a yellow ribbon and tie it to a wall with hundreds of others that would later be distributed in care packages to active-duty soldiers.

Animals, quilts and more

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum hosts artist and mother Luba Sordyl, creator of Help Us. Sordyl created the acrylic painting containing 17 intertwined animals after learning about how chemicals in the water impacted the health of animals and the environment in general. She hopes to raise awareness about this important environmental issue with her artwork.

“United We Stand” by Andrew Lee at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)

Also displayed at the museum were handmade quilts titled Shock and Awe & United We Stand by veteran Andrew Lee. In visiting with viewers, Lee said that he created quilts as a way to heal after his two deployments to Iraq. Each quilt is made up of hundreds of individually cut squares of fabric and then given away to veterans once completed.

All ages will find something to enjoy at ArtPrize, with several interactive exhibits that delight both adults and children. Among these are scavenger hunts, mailbox cubbies ready for exploration, large, chunky animal sculptures with colorful bodies called Chunkos, a 12-foot fort, and a display where visitors can write and share their dreams.

To learn more about ArtPrize and find tips to make the most of your visit, click here: ArtPrize 2022.

D. A. (Deborah) Reed is an award-winning author of young adult novels and a creative writing instructor from the Grand Rapids area. To find out more about D.A. Reed, visit her website: D.A. Reed Author

For ArtPrize 2022, several organizations focus on a single artist’s work

September 19, 2022Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming EventsArtPrize, ArtRat, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Public Museum, John Ball ZooJoanne

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Quality over quantity might be a theme for this year’s ArtPrize as several of the large institutions are featuring a single artist’s work.

This is the observation we saw as we pulled together the releases of several groups on their ArtPrize entries this year.

Grand Rapids Art Museum

The work of Mark Chatterly is featured at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Grand Rapids Public Museum/Mark Chatterly)

The Grand Rapids Art Museum‘s ArtPRize 2022 contribution is Andrea Dezsö’s “Family and Friends.” The large-scale mural on th eMuseum’s exterior and in the Museum’s lobby is comprised of imaginative creatures created by the artist during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, Dezsö conserved materials by cutting leftover scraps of handmade Japanese paper creatures she saw as protector sand companions during the pandemic. In total, she created 117 unique characters, which she has continued to explore over the past few years through woodblock print, wood carving, and now mural installation. The ArtPrize piece by Dezsö will be up through Jan. 14, 2023. The Grand Rapids Art Museum is located at 101 Monroe Center St. NW.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum

This year, the Grand Rapids Public Museum is featuring the work of sculptor Mark Chatterly for its ArtPrize exhibit. Chatterly specializes in large-scale figurative sculptures in ceramic that focus primarily on the figure with a metaphysical theme.

Chatterly’s “The Wall” is located outside of the museum on the north lawn. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is at 272 Pearl St. NW.

John Ball Zoo

The John Ball Zoo is hosting Disc Art, an interactive disc golf course featuring nine scrap metal features. Guests are invited to play the course for free and explore the large-scale art works. Discs will be provided or guests may bring their own.

Artist Stacy Rhines said she had the idea for about fives years and this winter, she actually had enough time to work on the piece. Each of the five goals are metal art sculptures made from repurposed. Rhines said she placed the tee and the goal about 80 feet apart, much less than a normal course, so that everyone could enjoy the activity. The John Ball Zoo is located at 1300 W. Fulton St.

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

A piece for the upcoming ArtPrize exhibit featuring the work of Mark Mennin. (Supplied)

The work of Mark Mennin will be featured as the Meijer Garden’s ArtPrize 2022. The exhibit, entitled “Embedded,” features three oversized stone beds situation outdoors on the Frey Foundation Plaza leading into the Welcome Center. This trip plays with perception of hard and soft, heavy and light.

Mennin’s ArtPrize piece will be up through Oct. 2. Mennin’s work is also featured in a fall exhibition at the Gardens, entitled Mark Mennen: Written in Stone which runs through Nov. 27. Frederik Meijer Gardens is located at 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE.

ArtRat

ArtRat, located at 46 S. Division, will be hosting several free events throughout ArtPrize. Upcoming are The Hai-Cuu Experience, which features poet and hip-hop musician Cuu JoSama, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22 and 29. On Friday, Sept. 23, will be a hands-on reception for Dean Hunt’s “evolutionARy,” an ArtPrize entry. The event is from 7 – 9 p.m. Sunday. Sept. 25, will be am music and dance performance from 5 to 6 p.m.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, will be the ArtRat’s ArtPRize wrap party will be from 2 – 5 p.m

ArtPrize plans to return in fall of 2022

November 30, 2021Entertainment, Local EntertainmentArtPrize, Fall 2022Joanne

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

ArtPrize organizers announced today that ArtPrize would return in 2022 to its annual format.

“We look forward with anticipation into the New Year and the opportunity to work with our community to create the best ArtPrize yet–one that will inspire hope and excitement in Grand Rapids and beyond, bringing us together in new ways, celebrating artists and art loves, and fostering a sense of openness and healing,” organizers said in a release to the public.

Dates, including those for artist and venue registration, will be announced later. Also in the coming weeks, ArtPrize will be sharing details on grant program and prize format.

For more information, visit artprize.org.

Kentwood artists take part in exhibit bringing healing to veterans

October 18, 2021Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Entertainment, Health, Local Faces, Non-Profits, Our Cities, Recreation, Senior LivingArtPrize, health, militaryJoanne

George Doornbos created this piece of a soldier kneeling in front of a grave. (Supplied)

By Sheila McGrath
WKTV Contributing Writer

George Doornbos and Dewey Heetderks, two veterans residing at Holland Home’s Breton Woods campus, both took up woodworking in their retirement years and found the art form greatly enriched their lives.

So when an opportunity arose to take part in a veterans-only exhibit designed to bring healing through art, they both signed on.

Doornbos and Heetderks each showed woodworking pieces in Has Heart, an ArtPrize venue at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Grand Rapids. ArtPrize 2021 ran Sept. 16 to Oct. 3.

The 21 works in the Has Heart collection were all created by military veterans, many of whom struggle with homelessness, PTSD, military sexual trauma, and thoughts of suicide.

Doornbos said working with wood helps keep his mind off aging and other unpleasant things. He was eager to participate in the exhibit hoping other veterans might also find peace through making art.

“I am very glad I went through it,” Doornbos said. “We were hoping to inspire some veterans or older people like myself to see if we could interest them in art or some other hobby to keep their mind off their troubles.”

Doornbos was in the Army from 1953 to 1955, serving as a radio operator. He took up woodworking seven years ago, at the age of 80, in the Holland Home wood shop. He works in a process called intarsia, which involves coloring and combining pieces of wood to form an art piece.

Dewey Heetderks creates hand carved wooden bowls using the grains and natural defects found in the wood to create unique and expressive works. (Supplied)

He typically creates animals, scenery or lighthouses, he said, but for the ArtPrize exhibit he entered a piece depicting a soldier kneeling over the grave of a fallen comrade. It was an idea that came to him about a year and a half ago, after he took part in an Honor Flight.

Honor Flights, funded by a nonprofit organization, transport American veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials honoring those who have served and died for the country.

“We went to the cemetery and the various war monuments, and this impressed me – the number of people who have given their lives so we can live with the freedoms we have. I was moved by that whole experience that whole day,” Doornbos said.

Heetderks worked in the Army medical corps as a urologist from 1963 to 1965, after graduating from the University of Michigan. He began turning wood about 15 years ago, at the age of 75, while spending winters in Florida.

Heetderks hand carves wooden bowls, using the grains and natural defects found in wood to create unique and expressive works.

“Wood is a beautiful product of our lord,” he said. “If it’s sanded and polished and given the opportunity with a beautiful finish, it’s lovely. I embellished every bowl I made. I made a special effort to create something unique, and that was a lot of fun.”

Neither of them had any plans to enter ArtPrize until a representative from the organization visited Holland Home to tell the residents about the veterans-only exhibit being created this year.

Both artists said the most important thing about the exhibit was giving veterans a creative outlet.

“For those that were involved, art for them was particularly important, particularly those that were suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome,” Heetderks said. “It was obviously a release for them. It’s wonderful.”

Grand Rapids Ballet turns tragedy into dance to raise awareness about homelessness

September 22, 2021Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Non-ProfitsArt, ArtPrize, entertainment, MusicJoanne

By John D. Gonzalez
WKTV Contributing Writer

When tragedy happens or circumstances become extreme, we’re all just one or two steps away from homelessness.

For more information about the performance, visit https://grballet.com/ or https://degageministries.org/ For more about ArtPrize, visit https://www.artprize.org/.

That’s part of the message of “Created by Circumstance,” a collaboration between the Grand Rapids Ballet Company and Dégagé Ministries as part of ArtPrize 2021, which continues through Oct. 3 in downtown Grand Rapids.

Three performances of the six-minute show — created by GRB professional dancer Gretchen Steimle — are planned beginning at 5:30 tonight (Sept. 22), with additional shows Sept. 24 and 26.

The goal of the show, and collaboration, is to share a message of hope, help and awareness, said Thelma Ensink, executive director at Dégagé Ministries.

She said more than 800 people a night experience homelessness in Grand Rapids.

“It’s such a variety of circumstances that places someone in that position,” Ensink said. “I am constantly amazed at the stories I hear from the people we serve; some have Masters Degrees and above, and then experience a traumatic event in their life or struggle with mental health or whatever it may be… All of us are vulnerable to being in this position.”

“Created by Circumstance” offers a glimpse into the lives of those experiencing homelessness in the Heartside neighborhood.

Steimle, a member of the Grand Rapids Ballet, began the project last winter, where she communicated with staff, as well as musicians Thomas and Isaac, who knew first-hand of the resources that Dégagé provides the community.

She was at first “overwhelmed with the idea” of creating an artistic piece of work from their struggles.

Gretchen Steimle, a member of the Grand Rapids Ballet, was the creative force behind “Created by Circumstance.” (Supplied)

“I can only create from my perspective,” Steimle said, “so I really tried to find the ways we were connecting, and the commonality we were finding together in what we shared.”

And what they shared was “hope, and dance, and music, and art, and all of those things that all humans experience,” she said.

The six-minute, music and movement piece includes four dancers from the Grand Rapids Ballet Company, as well as saxophone and vocals from patrons Isaac and Thomas, who have been served by Dégagé.

Words in the piece are actual testimonials and quotes from patrons, as well as songs and rhythms.

“It’s really this big, community movement piece,” she said.

It’s a testimony of an organization that strives to keep up with the demand, especially after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to ongoing services, Dégagé added new services such as job creation for patrons, hotel stays, extended shelter hours and PPE, according to reps.

In 2020, Dégagé served more than 60,000 meals, provided more than 7,200 loads of laundry, nearly 6,000 showers, and helped 52 women move into housing.

To see their community work turned into art is an awesome experience, Ensink said.

“I love that ballet and homelessness came together,” she said.

“That isn’t something you often think about as coming together…. Dance is an ancient art form, and I love that dance is expressing homelessness, It’s raw, it’s human. And that’s what homelessness is, it’s raw and it’s human.

Grand Rapids Ballet dancers and musicians Thomas and Isaac will perform “Created by Circumstance,” an ArtPrize 2021 entry. (Supplied)

“I love that dance is expressing this in such a beautiful way. I think people will be truly moved by this performance.”

As for ArtPrize, “Created by Circumstance” is included among other artist entries as a recipient of one of ArtPrize’s curatorial grants.

Each of the three performance locations also will include a QR code for visitors to scan with a chance of finding cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,500 each to award to any participating artist which would directly impact Dégagé by supporting its mission.

In addition, Ensink said Dégagé is expanding and is in the middle of a $7.3 million capital campaign. Each performance will have information about the campaign available via QR codes.

Ensink hopes ArtPrize attendees will see all the good things they do for the community through their ministry.

“We are all people created in God’s image, and we are all connected,” she said. “We all have the potential of being friends, of being neighbors and of being a community that supports one another.”

For more information about the performance, visit https://grballet.com/ or https://degageministries.org/ For more about ArtPrize, visit https://www.artprize.org/.

John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s an early adopter of Social Media and SEO expert. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.

The six-minute performance will be done at three different locations in the city on Sept. 22, 24, and 26. (Supplied)

Snapshots: Things to do this weekend

September 17, 20213-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Recreation, RestaurantsArtPrize, public market, WyomingJoanne

I’m not afraid of werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels, I’m afraid of what real human beings do to other real human beings.
American writer Walter Jon Williams

Wyoming’s First Public Market

Well after months of anticipation, the City of Wyoming’s first Public Market is this Saturday. The event is set for 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at HOM Flats, 1401 Prairie Parkway SW. The event is free to attend and will feature a number of local artisans and a selection of food trucks. No sweat if you miss this Saturday’s event as a second Public Market is scheduled or Sept. 25 at Wyoming City Hall.

Retired Chaplain John Hooglund, from Holland Home at Breton Woods, produced this work as part of veterans art project which led to the Yellow Ribbon ArtPrize entry. (Supplied/Pamela Alderman)

It’s back

After two years, partly due to COVID, ArtPrize returns with artists taking over downtown Grand Rapids. There is sculpture. There is paintings. There is a lot to see, so spend the weekend — with weather reports all showing it to be beautiful — checking out some amazing art and get boned up on the new voting system.

Executve Chef Josef Huber at Gun Lake Casino shows off the popular burger, which comes with two 4.5-oz. patties. (Photo by John D. Gonzalez)

Now Open

WKTV Contributing Writer John D. Gonzalez gives us the inside scoop on the new restaurants at the Gun Lake Casino. Located just off the US 131, the restaurants include the SHKOÉ Chophouse, CBK, and the 131 Sportsbar & Lounge, which offers floor-to-ceiling LED video walls and 180-degree panoramic views For more, click here for John’s story.

Fun Fact: Ferris Wheels

“Pleasure wheels” as Ferris Wheels were called date back to the early 1600s, however the one we are most familiar with is George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.’s creation for the 1863 Chicago’s World Fair. Designed to rival the 1,063-foot Eiffle Tower that was the center piece of the 1889 Pairs Exposition, the “Chicago Wheel” was 264 feet and the tallest attraction at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After the fair, the wheel was rebuilt on Chicago’s North Side, near Lincoln Park, where it rain from 1895 to 1903. It was then shipped to St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair and destroyed after that event. The Ferris Wheel returned to Chicago in 1995 at the Navy Pier and in 2016, the Navy Pier opened the Centennial Wheel as part of its 100th anniversary celebration. Today Ferris Wheels are more commonly called Observation Wheels, pre the one in England. The tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, the High Roller, stands at 550 feet and is located in Las Vegas.

Snapshots: Fun things to do this weekend

September 18, 20203-bottom, Citizen JournalismArtPrize, Music Festival, Virtual EventsJoanne

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

-Albert Einstein

By Faith Morgan
WKTV Intern

Reflecting back on the 2019 Festival (Supplied)

Listen to Irish Music

Michigan Irish Music Festival will be hosting the annual festival virtually this year. Enjoy online performances and presentations to keep “Irish in your heart”. All events will be viewable on the Festival’s Facebook page Thursday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 20.

Pillows are decorated for Dégagé Ministries display

See a public art exhibit

Sometimes we just need a peaceful break from the long work week. Take a stroll at Ah-Nab-Awen Park to see the Pillow Project display. Beautifully decorated pillowcases are displayed along the bridge representing the 4,700 women who have accessed Dégagé Ministries Open Door Women’s Center. The cases tell a story of the growing population of homeless women and are a sight you won’t want to miss. The display, which is part of Bridge GR, will be up throughout this month.

Host a Virtual Game Night

Looking to stay inside in the comfort of sweatpants and avoid traffic? Try a virtual game night. Let’s Roam hosts virtual games nights for you to try with your friends. Classic games like trivia and charades, along with drinking games for us legal gamers. Who said having fun meant going out?

Fun Fact: A whole lot of pie

The apple blossom is Michigan’s state flower. But did you know that Michigan produces more 900 millions pounds of apples a year? An apple pie typically calls for 3-4 pounds of apples. Doing the math approximately 300 million apple pies could be produced a year. Anyone want a slice?

Bridge GR fills the void of a public outdoor exhibition

September 14, 20203-bottomArtPrizeJoanne

“Tropical Readiness” by Jeffery Augustine Songco can be seen on Monroe Center. (Supplied/Bridge GR)

By Anna Johns
WKTV Intern

After the announcement that ArtPrize would not take place this year, a group of Grand Rapids residents and city leaders have come together to offer a new art-focused event to encourage area residents to come down and enjoy Michigan’s second-largest city.

The Bridge GR kicked off on Aug. 28 and runs through Oct. 3. The event takes place throughout downtown Grand Rapids and its surrounding neighborhoods. The Bridge GR is a live event focused on celebrating Grand Rapids’ arts, culture, music, and community. Events such as yoga, concerts, dance parties, and river clean-ups will take place throughout the month. For a complete list of events, you can visit www.TheBridgeGR.com.

“This exciting community celebration serves to bridge the gap between our current reality and our brighter future,” said Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington. “By giving our community this platform, we hope not only to celebrate who we are, but to build conversations that promote resilience, healing, shared understanding, and progress in Grand Rapids.”

Many in the community are currently suffering the effects of the pandemic. The Bridge GR is designed to support economic recovery while connecting the community. Recently the national conversation has turned towards issues of racial and economic justice and the Bridge GR hopes to provide residents with an opportunity to experience diverse cultures to provide a platform to speak on these injustices.

“This is a time to unite in celebration of the diverse talent and cultures that make Grand Rapids unique,” said Tim Kelly, president, and CEO of DGRI. “Bridge GR will have activities for the whole family and will help ensure our community stays resilient into the future.”

A pillowcase designed for The Pillow Project located at Ah-Nab-Awen Park. (Supplied/Dégagé Ministires)

In light of these injustices, Dégagé Ministries has created The Pillow Project. This installation features pillowcases decorated by the community that represents the 4,700 women who have accessed Dégagé Ministries Open Door Women’s Center since 2003. The project is designed to share the stories of the woman Dégagé has served. The project is located at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, on the Gillett Bridge, and along the fencing to the west of DeVos Place.

All Bridge GR events will take place outdoors and are limited to one hundred attendees. Participants are encouraged to wear a mask and all events will follow the State of Michigan guidelines which are detailed on The Bridge GR website.

You don’t need ArtPrize to discover a city full of art

August 20, 2020Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local EntertainmentArt, ArtPrize, Grand RapidsJoanne

By Shallom Kimanzi
WKTV Intern

Disappointment reigned supreme when it was announced that COVID-19 had put the kibosh on this year’s ArtPrize activities. As others scrambled to fill in the gaps, we discovered there is quite a bit of art — both new and old — for any resident to take their own art tour through downtown Grand Rapids.

Take this walking tour by yourself, or with family and friends, to get some fresh air while enjoying the beautiful art that adorns the Grand Rapids’ streets.

Starting from the LOVE sculpture along Monroe Avenue, take the path behind it past the Panera Bread along Campau Avenue going below the JW Marriott Grand Rapids bridge along Louis Street to see the blue “Steel Water” fluoridation statue located by the Grand River along Louis Street. The statue was made as a pride symbol of Grand Rapids for being the first city that utilized water fluoridation in 1945.

Head back east to the LOVE sculpture and go north along Monroe Avenue. Then join Pearl Street by turning west from Monroe Avenue. Along Pearl Street, you will see the benches and a garden-like monument built to preserve the memory of a lifelong friendship which later became a business partnership between Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel. The two entrepreneurs formed Amway Corporation that turned into a global corporation. This monument is right outside the JW Marriott hotel, which was the last venture DeVos and Andel embarked on together. The flower monument is surrounded by benches and pillars each dedicated to the sister cities connected to Grand Rapids by Amway.

Head north on Pearl Street over the bridge to the front of the Grand Rapids Public Museum where the Memorial Bell is located just west of Pearl Street. Dedicated in 1995, the bell was donated by a Local 336 Firefighters of Grand Rapids and it serves a tribute to all firefighters, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

While looking at the Memorial Bell, you can’t help but notice the Apollo Command Module, which is actually a time capsule. Celebrating the city’s sesquicentennial and the nation’s bicentennial, the module was filled with memorabilia that reflects life in Grand Rapids in 1976. What does it hold? Well, you won’t get a sneak peek until July 4, 2076 when it is scheduled to be open.

As you continue to walk outside the Grand Rapids Public Museum you will see paintings on the walls of the building along Front Avenue which lead you to the east entrance of the spectacular Blue Bridge.

Before getting across the bridge, there is the Noahquageshik sculpture right before the entrance. Noahquageshik, also known as “Chief Noonday,” was a very influential leader of the original people (Grand River Ottawa Anishinabe) of Grand Rapids and this statue is dedicated to him.

If you’re feeling a little bit more adventurous, you can take a stroll through Lacks park that leads to a mini nature trail beside the calm waters of the Grand River right below the Blue Bridge, which extend north to the bridge on Pearl Street.

Lacks Pack has beautiful sculptures in it as well such as the River’s Edge and the Be Still and Know IV. This park can serve as a cute spot for taking pictures, having your “alone time,” hanging out with your loved ones or just getting your daily work out steps in.

After crossing the Blue Bridge, go east into the small path, called the River Edge, right outside the building covered with beautiful art paintings and head north onto Fulton Street.

You’ll see a little black box painting dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement before turning west onto Ottawa Street and you will see another Black Lives Matter painting along Louis Street. These paintings were done on windows broken after a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Flloyd.

Keep walking north on Ottawa Street and head west on Monroe Street to find yet another wall painting dedicated to the Black community and the rights and justice they deserve.

And the best way to complete the tour is at the famous Rosa Parks Circle that houses a statue dedicated to Civil Rights activist Rosa Park at the intersection of Monroe Street and Monroe Avenue. Head across the street, head south along Monroe Street to the starting point, the LOVE sculpture.

Going on this tour made me realize what a rich artistic culture Grand Rapids has. The city’s buildings, sculptures and statues are full of many stories that show that Grand Rapids is a city full of art even without ArtPrize.

Local groups, artist use art to help build a better understanding about mental health

October 29, 2019Citizen Journalism, EntertainmentArtPrize, Experience Live Art, i understand, Leyna Luttrull, We Understand TogetherJoanne

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

It wasn’t until artist Leyna Luttrull researched and then painted ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) that she fully understood what her daughter was going through.

“I didn’t think she really had it,” Luttrull said as she stood next to a series of paintings that depict mental health diagnosis — bipolar disorder, ADHD, substance abuse disorder, and borderline personality. The paintings were part of Luttrull’s 2018 ArtPrize installation “Disease Does Not Discriminate (Work in Progress)”. “I thought she was just acting out. I had to research it and learn about it. That’s when I truly understood that my daughter really did have ADHD. She was struggling. It wasn’t just acting it out. She wasn’t making it up. She was really suffering from this.”

It was through that 2018 ArtPrize series that Luttrull said she has found art creates a platform for people to openly discuss the disorders and diseases they have personally faced or have faced with loved ones. It is the reason Luttrull decided to partner with the non-profit mental health organization i understand and the local art group Experience Live Art to create the 2020 ArtPrize piece “We UnderSTAND Together.”

Unveiled at the Sept. 10 Pink Heart Day — a family-friendly event that raises awareness about suicide and prevention along with working to erase the stigma of depression and other mental health disorders — the ArtPrize piece brings together the community to paint tiles that Luttrull will then assemble into a giant butterfly.”

“With this piece we are trying to bring awareness of what people face in mental health and the stigmas that are attached to them,” Luttrull said. “So we are hoping by allowing people to express themselves through these tiles we can create a greater picture of how working together as a collective can overcome the stigmas of mental health.”

The goal is to collect about 2,000 tiles with organizers planning to attend various events throughout Grand Rapids to provide opportunities for community members to paint a tile or two. The community also will be invited to help break objects that will be used in the piece as well.

A rending of what the “We UnderSTAND Together” piece will look like when completed. (Supplied)

Vonnie Woodrick, founder of i understand, said the butterfly was chosen because it is a symbol of change.

“That we can be in a dark place but through time and transformation, we can have the ability to emerge into something beautiful,” she said.

Artist Leyna Luttrull at the Sept. 10 Pink Heart Day. (Photo by WKTV)

Along with hosting support groups and providing educational materials about suicide, i understand is working to eliminate the stigma of suicide by changing the definition of the word from “intentionally taking one’s own life” to “suicide’s role as a terminal side effect of mental illness and wanting one’s physical or emotional pain to end.”

Woodrick said she hopes that the 2020 ArtPrize project will help the public understand that everyone has some sort of pain.

“We want to be able to support each other through that pain no matter what it is, whether it is a mental health illness, whether it is cancer, whether it’s physical, whether it’s bullying,” she said.

The “We UnderSTAND Together” project will be visiting various local events to give the public an opportunity to paint tiles. (Photo by WKTV)

Steve Tibbe, one of the founders of Experience Live Art, said his organization looks to host platforms that help to promote local artists and increase exposure for healthy ways for creative outlets. The “We UnderSTAND Together” project fit those goals.

“This particular project focuses on bringing the community together and letting people connect with each other more than they think,” Tibbe said. “I think there is a lot of stuff through social media and just the technology today that we just feel connected but we are actually less connected. So people struggle with expressing themselves and their true feelings and just the ups and downs of life.”

Tibbe said he hopes the piece will be displayed in a prominent Grand Rapids location for ArtPrize 2020 so people can take selfies with the piece and use it let others know that they are not alone and they do understand what that person is experiencing.

To follow the “We UnderSTAND Together” project, visit the Facebook page or Experience Live Art’s website, experienceliveart.com. For more about i understand, visit iunderstandloveheals.org.

WKTV VOICES guests share diverse global perspectives and memories, enrich the community

September 4, 20193-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Local Faces, Our Cities, Politics, VoicesAngelique Mugabekazi, ArtPrize, Jimmy King, Lana Lie, oral history, Pamela Benjamin, Victoria Mullen, WKTV VOICESJoanne

By Victoria Mullen, WKTV

Pamela Benjamin came to the U.S. from Australia on a spousal visa only to discover she couldn’t even check out a library book.

Angelique Mugabekazi fled the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide when she was five years old, then struggled to survive daily life in a lawless refugee camp.

Grand Rapids native Donna Troost remembers a rubber shortage during World War II and the time her dad had to get permission from the government so that she could ride her bicycle to school.

Three women with very different backgrounds—and one thing in common: Each shared her unique journey with WKTV’s VOICES, a personal and family oral history project. The project’s mission is “to collect, share and preserve the narratives of people in our community”—of our lives; of people from all walks of life.

Oral history—the collection and study of individual histories, experiences of disasters, important events or everyday life—is a tradition as old as civilization itself. Using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews, oral history strives to obtain information from different perspectives, most of which cannot be found in written sources. Some academics consider oral history akin to journalism as both are committed to uncovering truths and compiling narratives about people, places, and events.

Since its launch in September 2017 at ArtPrize Nine, VOICES has collected the conversations of people from a myriad of places, such as Indonesia, Kenya, Rwanda, Australia, Spain, as well as the U.S. (California and Michigan (including Wyoming, Grand Rapids, and Lansing).

VOICES’s vintage 1958 Airstream® trailer has been made into a mobile studio

A free public service, VOICES travels throughout the West Michigan region to encourage neighbors, friends and family to tell their stories—the narratives that make us human—of our lives, experiences, sorrows, triumphs and tragedies. We all benefit from knowing each other’s background; the shared bond that helps us build community.

VOICES offers a comfortable, mobile video recording studio with a relaxed atmosphere, and utilizes high-tech video and audio equipment to capture the narratives for posterity. Conversations usually take place between two people who know and care about each other. These can be friends, family, or mere acquaintances. Any topic may be explored, whether a specific event in a person’s life, a childhood memory, a family tragedy—no subject is off limits.

Those who step inside VOICES’s 1958 Airstream trailer—outfitted as a mobile studio— are welcomed into an inviting atmosphere to sit back, relax, and have a conversation. All VOICES conversations are audio- and video-recorded to provide participants with a link to each conversation and for possible airing on Channel 25 in Wyoming, Kentwood and Gaines Township (U-Verse Channel 99).

VOICES participants find the experience valuable and gratifying.

“I hope that people will listen to my story and learn what it’s like to come from a different country—what we had to do to come to America,” said Lana Lie, who emigrated to the U.S. from Indonesia.

Jimmy King, who shared his experiences as a young man with autism, said, “The experience was absolutely incredible. They really listened to me and had a genuine interest in my voice.”

Every second Saturday, VOICES is at Marge’s Donut Den at 1751 28th St, SW for ‘Second Saturday at Marge’s’. The next date is April 14. It’s free, just go here to reserve a time.

ArtPrize announces ‘Project 1’ event schedule

August 30, 2019Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming EventsArtPrize, Margaret Paxton, Project 1Joanne

By Margaret Paxton, ArtPrize

The public is invited to the official Project 1 free events happening Saturdays during the run of the exhibition.

From Sept. 7-Oct. 27, 2019, Project 1: Crossed Lines exhibition will occupy multiple outdoor sites in Grand Rapids, Michigan and will feature temporary public artworks by five artists. The seven-week run will be punctuated by a series of events, volunteer opportunities, educational programs and performances.

Each Saturday in September and the last week in October will feature a different program of free and open-to-the-public events that will activate the artists’ works in an unforgettable way. Many other exhibitions, community events and performances will be happening throughout the run of the exhibition.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with community members and organizations across the city to build out a spectacular set of events throughout September,” said Jori Bennett, executive director.

ArtPrize has also partnered with community partners to provide an even richer experience at each of the Saturday events. All Art Works is putting on an exhibition to provide connections between artists and art buyers. The WestSide StreetFair will be happening on Saturday, Sept. 14th that coincides with the run of Project 1. The Grand Rapids African American Art and Music Festival will also be happening on Saturday, Sept. 21 in Martin Luther King Park.

“The Grand Rapids African American Art and Music Festival is thrilled to partner with ArtPrize again,” said Lisa Knight, Festival board chair and director of the Centers for Innovation, Health, Education, Youth and Community Engagement, at the Urban League of West Michigan.

“This will be the first time the Festival is held in Martin Luther King Jr. Park and the Project 1 installations there will provide exciting programming opportunities.”

Saturday, Sept. 7, presented by DTE Foundation

Join ArtPrize and the City of Grand Rapids for a day of one-of-a-kind performances and events. Begin at Rosa Parks Circle at noon to kick off the inaugural Project 1 exhibition with a headlining performance from BANDALOOP. From 2-5pm enjoy the Martin Luther King Jr Park community kick-off with a headlining performance by Jordan Hamilton.

While downtown, stop in to see the All Art Works Show: Great Art at Great Prices at 37 Ottawa Ave NW from 10am to 6pm — 200 artists of every career level are curated next to works by world-famous artists. The show is free and open to the public, and all artwork is for sale and priced for fledgling and experienced buyers. The show runs from Sept. 6 through 10.

Evening programming includes an artist panel hosted at Critical Infrastructure at the Tanglefoot site. After the talk, the Disability Drag Show, presented by DisArt, be taking place at a venue to be announced.

Saturday, Sept. 14, presented by Meijer

Start the second weekend of Project 1 at the WestSide StreetFair on Broadway and Bridge from 11am to 6pm. Enjoy live music, art and educational activities for the whole family. Community partners John Ball Zoo, Experience Live Art, Artists Creating Together, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Comedy Project, Gilda’s Club and more will be there.

Be sure to check out Meijer’s Grand Taste Truck sited at Rosa Parks Circle, which will be giving food and household items out. There will be art activities happening from 11am to 3pm.

Then don’t miss an unforgettable evening of light, sound and community at this one-night-only performance at Blue Bridge Amplified, presented by Founder’s Brewing Company. Electronic beat-maker and headliner, Dan Deacon, as well as an array of local artists and musicians will take over Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Voice Bridge, activating the sound system and 400+ lights that will traverse Grand Rapids’s iconic Blue Bridge from 8-11pm.

Saturday, Sept. 28, presented by DisArt and SiTE:LAB

For the final Saturday in September, join DisArt and its collaborators as they present Voices an immersive, multimedia project displayed and interacted with throughout the Tanglefoot site. Designed as both an aesthetic and archiving experience, Voices will gather and visualize stories of alienation and belonging from Disabled community members as well as visitors to the site. The event runs from noon to 10pm, and all are encouraged to attend and participate.

Saturday, Oct. 26

Join us at Studio Park to celebrate the final weekend of Project 1. The evening will kick off with a press conference where several exciting announcements will be made for ArtPrize 2020. The evening will unfold to feature live music in the Studio Park Listening Room.

About Project 1 by ArtPrize

The ArtPrize organization produces open citywide contemporary art experiences that encourage critical discourse, celebrate artists, transform urban space and promote cultural understanding. Project 1: Crossed Lines is the first in a series of multi-sited public art exhibitions to take place between biennial ArtPrize competitions.

For more information, visit artprize.org.

Snapshots: Kentwood, Wyoming weekend news you need to know

September 28, 20183-bottom, Citizen JournalismArtPrize, Blue Courage, Grand Rapids African american Museum, Grand Valley State University, Switch Inc., WKTV VOICES, Wyoming K-9 UnitJoanne

WKTV Staff

joanne@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

“The prize and the voting are really just mechanisms. It comes back to building a creative culture in West Michigan.”

        ~ Rick DeVos in a 2011 speech about ArtPrize

Don’t Forget to Vote!

If you haven’t made it downtown to ArtPrize, there is lots to see including the WKTV VOCIES trailer which is recording artists’ stories for the next two weekends near the corner of Lyon and Monroe. Local filmmaker and longtime volunteer Rose Hammond is showing a trailer of her upcoming documentary “Between the Trees,” about the communities of Woodland Park and Idlewild at the Grand Rapids African American Museum, which is on the short list for best venue. Also check out Kentwood resident Meochia Thompson’s “Hugs” near the city center and Nidal Kanaan’s “Blue Courage” at Flanagan’s Irish Pub, which features the Wyoming K-9 unit. Round 1 voting ends tomorrow at midnight with the Top 20 Public Vote announced on Sunday. ArtPrize runs through Oct. 7.

Keeping it Real

Self-run cars. Robots taking care of the children. It all sounds a little sci-fi, but it is quickly becoming a reality. On Wednesday, Oct. 3, Switch, Inc. Chief Information Officer Missy Young will discuss artificial intelligence in her presentation “Artificial Intelligence: Keeping the Human in Humanity,” which is part of the Grand Valley State University’s Peter F. Secchia Breakfast Lecture. The program, which is at 7:30 a.m., is at the L. William Seidman Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

The Leaves Are Changing – Yea!

Henderson Castle and Winery in Kalamazoo

Weather gurus are predicting that the leaves will change later this year with our area being in prime color around Oct. 20. With that in mind, now is the time to start planning that fall color tour. The West Michigan Tourist Association has a plethora of bed and breakfasts ideas in West Michigan that can make any weekend trip a special adventure. So it doesn’t matter if you stay in Kalamazoo’s Henderson Castle Inn and Winery or Saugatuck’s Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast, you are certain to see Michigan in full color.

Fun Fact:

1.32 Acres

That is the size of the average football field, which is 120 yards in length and 53 and half yards in width. Times the two numbers together and the total square feet is 57,600. One acre equals about 43,560 square feet, making a football field about 1.32 acres. Now that you know this little fun fact, go out and enjoy some football as many local teams will be squaring off tonight. WKTV will be at the Kelloggsville vs. Godwin Heights game, which is certain to be a good match up.

Local filmmaker and WKTV volunteer excited to be a part of ArtPrize

September 26, 20183-bottom, Citizen JournalismArtPrize, ArtPrize 10, Grand Rapids African american Museum, In Between the Trees, Rose HammondJoanne

Rose Hammond with ArtPrize entry at the Grand Rapids African American Museum.

Local filmmaker and WKTV volunteer Rose Hammond is currently showing a sneak peek of her upcoming documentary “In Between the Trees” at ArtPrize 10.

The documentary focuses on the Michigan African-American communities of Idlewild and Woodland Park.

Here ArtPrize piece, also titled “In Between the Trees,” is located at the Grand Rapids African American Museum, 87 Monroe Center NW. In her ArtPrize entry, Hammond has the trailer and three canvas pieces that let the the individuals who created the communities of Idelwild and Woodland Park tell their stories. For a look at Hammond’s entry, click here.

Hammond will be presenting a discussion about her work Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. at the museum.

Hammond said she is thrilled to be showing her work at the Grand Rapids African American Museum, which was one of five venues on the ArtPrize Juried Short list for best venue. The venue features eight artists including Hammond and Heather Johnson, whose piece “But Did You Die?” made the jurors’ short list for best 2-D work.

Snapshots: Wyoming and Kentwood fun news you need to know

September 21, 20183-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Our Cities, Recreation, Upcoming Events, VoicesArtPrize, Meochia Thompson, Nidal Kanaan, WKTV VOICESJoanne

WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

“We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.” — Virginia Satir, family therapist

Kentwood artist’s HUG exhibit an extension of who she is

Meochia Thompson with some friends in an earlier Hugs campaign.

You can find 2018 ArtPrize artist Meochia Thompson giving hugs at church events, retirement homes, or around the community. Now you can find the Kentwood woman downtown embracing strangers during ArtPrize for her entry HUG, a campaign that stands for “help uplift goodness”. To get the details, click here.

Stars of one ArtPrize exhibit is the Wyoming Police K-9 unit

Nidal Kanaan’s ArtPrize piece “Blue Courage” can be found at Flaganan’s Irish Pub.

Inside Flanagan’s Irish Pub in downtown Grand Rapids, you can find food, drinks, and Nidal Kanaan’s ArtPrize entry “Blue Courage.” Photographing the Wyoming Police K-9 unit, Kanaan produced images that ArtPrize attendees will enjoy while stopping in for a quick refreshment. To get the details, click here.

WKTV wants the VOICES of not just artists, but the voters as well

Last year, VOICES debuted at ArtPrize Nine, introducing our 1958 Airstream trailer and collecting the stories of winning ArtPrize artists Daniel Oropreza and Sofia Hernandez Ramirez. This year, VOICES will again collect stories from artists. But we are also bringing our Voters Feedback Booth, right next to the trailer, where voters are encouraged to share what they voted on and why. For get the details, click here.

And today’s fun fact:

3 seconds

Hugs follow a 3-second rule. Ever wondered how long a hug lasts? The quick answer is about 3 seconds, according to a 2011 study of the post-competition embraces of Olympic athletes.

Kentwood ArtPrize artist embraces diversity, looks to make impact at ArtPrize 10

September 20, 20183-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of KentwoodArtPrize, ArtPrize 10, Grand Rapids City Hall, Hugs, Meochia Thompson, My Life ChatsJoanne

By Micah Cho

WKTV Intern

You can find 2018 ArtPrize artist Meochia Thompson giving hugs at church events, retirement homes, or around the community. Now you can find her downtown embracing strangers during ArtPrize for her entry HUG, a campaign that stands for “help uplift goodness”

Standing 10 feet tall, Thompson is building a hug stage, a safe place located at Grand Rapids City Hall where strangers can gather to embrace each other. An entry that is based on volunteer hugger groups of five or more can rent out the stage to give hugs.

“I just love hugging people.” Thompson said. “I know how it feels to be alone…So I decided to create a hug campaign. I prayed about it and I’m like ‘okay God what do I do with this.’”

Thompson’s campaign started four years ago in her hometown of Chicago. Money from her first campaign went to caregivers, people who bear the stress of taking care of other peoples loved ones.

“I was able to raise $5,000 and I just started giving it out to caregiving organizations” Thompson said. “They’re not around people all of the time. They’re dying for a hug, they’re dying to be around the regular public.”

Talking about hugging strangers, Thompson said there’s nothing weird about it. Showing compassion and love to people you don’t know is what Thompson said this whole campaign is about.

A mock-up of the Hugs stage which is located at Grand Rapids City Hall.

“Every time that you hug somebody, it doesn’t matter what they did in their past. It doesn’t matter who they are now or how much money they have. When you hug somebody it’s not about any of that. It’s just about at that moment showing love for mankind.” Thompson said about hugging.

Although winning ArtPrize would be a great accomplishment for a first time ArtPrize artist, Thompson has something bigger in mind.

“My goal is to make Grand Rapids hug city; the place to be for a good hug”.

If you would like to learn more about Thompson’s entry or would like to get involved yourself, visit her website mylifechats .com/hug.

Wyoming Police K-9 Unit featured in ArtPrize entry ‘Blue Courage’

September 19, 20183-bottom, City of WyomingArtPrize, Blue Courage, Flanagan's Irish Pub, Nidal Kanaan, Officer Daniel Sanderson, Officer Kelsey Eisen, Officer Ryan Patterson, Wyoming Department of Public SafetyJoanne

By Micah Cho

WKTV Intern

“I learned quite a bit” Kanaan told the WKTV Journal. “These dogs are extremely hard working and the humans are also extremely hard working. There’s a lot of teamwork and community between them.”

The largest photograph featured in Kanaan’s entry highlights the relationship a K-9 officer has with his/her partner.

Nidal Kanaan’s ArtPrize piece “Blue Courage” can be found at Flanagan’s Irish Pub.

“My favorite picture is the one in the middle…” Said Kanaan. “It’s officer Ryan [Patterson] and his dog Chase. Just that eye contact between them is so powerful. And it’s not just the eye contact in the training sense that, what is my next move? What do I need to do next? But there’s a lot of love there. They are officers and partners, but they do have that human and dog bond too.”

“I would describe my relationship with my K-9 partner as a love/hate relationship,” said Officer Patterson. “They’re trained to be dominate, and with that there’s always a struggle…But it’s definitely a close relationship when you spend more time with them than you do your spouse”.

From having role models that were police officers to raising dogs for hunting, all four officers have a different story in why they wanted to be part of a K-9 unit. Officer Kelsey Eisen originally wanted to become a dog trainer. She decided to join the Wyoming Public Safety Department in hopes of pursing her passion by becoming a K-9 officer. Her dream came true a year-and-a-half ago when she was paired with her partner Dutch.

Overall, Kanaan is grateful with the time he was able to spend with the officers. A combination of the two parties created photographs that not only represent teamwork, but also love and affection between officer and K-9.

Officer Ryan Patterson with Chase, Officer Kelsey Eisen with Dutch, and Officer Daniel Sanderson with Azar

All photographs featured in Kanaan’s entry are up for sale. Proceeds go towards adoption fees for West Michigan shelters. During last year’s ArtPrize event, Kanaan was able to cover 25 adoption fees for West Michigan dogs.

ArtPrize runs through Oct. 7. All law enforcement officers and firefighters receive 25 percent off their bill at Flanagan’s during ArtPrize.

If you would like to see Wyoming’s K-9 officers in action, the police department will be hosting its annual K-9 carnival at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW, on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m.

To learn more about Nidal’s ArtPrize entry, visit his page on the ArtPrize website, https://www.artprize.org/67259. Flanagan’s Irish Pub is located at 139 Pearl St. NW, just a couple of buildings east of the corner of Monroe Avenue and Pearl Street.

Snapshots: Wyoming and Kentwood news you need to know

September 19, 20183-bottom, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Non-Profits, Upcoming EventsArtPrize, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Migrant Legal Aid, Ride for JakobJoanne

WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

In honor of ArtPrize: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”  — Pablo Picasso

ArtPrize venues you
might not think about

ArtPrize 10 is here which means for the next two and half weeks much of the community will be focused on and discussing art. A few of the venues which you might automatically think about reached out to us with information about who will be at their venue. To get the details, click here.

Picking time in local orchards,
and who’s doing the work

The Grand Rapids based Migrant Legal Aid organization visited WKTV Journal: In Focus recently to discuss the continuing and confusing mess that is current federal immigration policies, including the separation of families and sometimes separate deportation of suspected illegal immigrants — many of them seeking work as part of America’s migrant labor force. For more information, click here.

Stories from the road
with Kentwood bicyclist

Kentwood resident and bicyclist-on-a-mission Ken Smith, last week, took a wrong road in Canada but ended up with an unexpected meal and a donation for his cause — his 3,500-plus coast-to-coast trip to raise funds for his grandson, Jakob, and awareness of all persons with neurological damage. For more information, click here.

And today’s fun fact
(bicyclist history):

268.8 km/h

Fred Rompelberg from Maastricht, Netherlands, was the holder of the motor-paced speed world record cycling with 268.831 km/h (166.9 mph) from 1995 to 2018. He used a special bicycle behind a dragster of the Strasburg Drag Racing Team at the Bonneville Salt Flats. (Wikipedia)

Here’s a peek at some of what you will find at ArtPrize 10

September 18, 20183-bottom, Citizen JournalismArtPrize, Frederik Meijer Gardens, Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Public MuseumJoanne

WKTV Staff

joanne@wktv.org

ArtPrize 10 is here which means for the next two and half weeks much of the community will be focused on and discussing art.

WKTV will be joining the conversation with WKTV VOICES. Introduced at ArtPrize Nine last year, VOICES is housed in a 1958 Airstream trailer and collects stories. Last year, it focused on collecting the stories of artists. This year, the trailer will again return to the corner of Lyon and Monroe, across from the Amway Grand Plaza, collecting stories of artists but also hosting a Voters Feedback Booth, where voters are encouraged to share what they voted on and why.

And what should participants expect to see at this year’s ArtPrize? Well, a few of the venues reached out to us with information about who will be at their venue.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport

5500 44th St. SE

Visitors and passengers coming through the airport will be see 14 exhibits on display at the
Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Art at the airport is on display upstairs along the mezzanine, in the indoors observation deck area, and in the east end of the terminal building near the valet ticket counter and exit to rental cars.

“We are thrilled to once again serve as a gathering place for ArtPrize –as a venue, a sponsor, and as a way to welcome artists and visitors into our great city,” said GFIA President & CEO Jim Gill. “The Ford Airport strives to be reflective of the people and events in West Michigan, and we have a chance to brighten up our space with local and national artwork that showcases many different types of art. We hope people take advantage of the art on display here and visit us during the competition whether as a traveler or just a general visitor.”

Among the feature pieces is “1934,” by Amiri Farris, a portrait of a young President Gerald R. Ford and teammate Willis Ward. This large size painting depicts how President Ford overcame mounting adversity and racial discrimination to hep a friend. Artist Tom Howing, who is battling cancer, worked with his autistic son, Matthew, to put his views of the world into a 3-D format display titled “Matthew’s View.” Also artist Elizabeth Paul Healey fled her home in North Carolina this past weekend as Hurricane Florence approached and is here with her piece “Fear Less.”

Petra Kuppers, Salamander by The Olimpias. (Courtesy of the artist)

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

1000 E Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will host 16 contemporary sculptors in an innovative exhibition jointly organized by DisArt, a Grand Rapids based arts and cultural organization promoting the full participation of disabled people in and through the arts. The exhibition is titled “Process and Presence: Contemporary Disability Sculpture”.

Through examples of three-dimensional practice including sculpture, performance, installation and video art, this exhibition emphasizes the relationship between disability and the fundamental human experiences of change and embodiment. The exhibition offers audiences a survey of contemporary disability sculpture through artists whose work represents local, national and global perspectives on the experiences of living with disability.

“Process and Presence: Contemporary Disability Sculpture” will be free of charge during ArtPrize (Sept. 19 – Oct. 7). The exhibition areas will be open to the public during Meijer Gardens’ regular business hours. All other areas of Meijer Gardens observe regular hours and standard admission fees.

Arizona-based artist duo Lauren Strohacker and Kendra Sollars shed light on the displacement, reintroduction, and loss of wildlife in urban areas, and have collaborated with Blandford Nature Center to create their time-based entry, Animal Land.

Grand Rapids Art Museum

101 Monroe Center St. NW

The Grand Rapids Art Museum’s ArtPrize 10 exhibition will showcase a broad range of contemporary art by local, regional, national and international artists—competing in every ArtPrize category: 2D, 3D, Time-based and Installation. The total number of artists/artist pairs is 10. The exhibition includes outdoor installations and large-scale nighttime projections on the building’s exterior, and also contains sculpture, painting and interactive performance works.

“Visitors to ArtPrize 10 at GRAM will find the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s most ambitious presentation yet—dazzling installations adapted to interior and exterior public spaces, technology-based interactive experiences, monumental sculpture and more,” commented GRAM Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen.

Several themes can be found within the artwork on view—Venezuelan artist, Saskia Jordá, uses her work as a call to action to end violence and hunger. Michigan-based artist John Gutsokey addresses loss, grief, and the aftermath of hate crimes, as well as gun violence, homophobia, violence against people of color and the transgender community, and LGBTQ rights. Arizona-based artist duo Lauren Strohacker and Kendra Sollars shed light on the displacement, reintroduction, and loss of wildlife in urban areas, and have collaborated with Blandford Nature Center to create their time-based entry, Animal Land.

Grand Rapids Public Museum

272 Pearl St. NW

The Grand Rapids Public Museum will once again host an outdoor exhibition in which the work of 17 artists will visually lend itself to the setting of the Museum grounds. Each year the GRPM curates a rewarding experience with approachable art that is intriguing, distinctive and engages the viewer’s capacity for awe and curiosity. Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids along the busy river walkway, the GRPM is able to offer a not-to-be-missed immersive, 24-hour experience.

During ArtPrize Ten the GRPM will be open with regular Museum hours and half off general admission fees. The GRPM will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays of ArtPrize. For more information about artists, exhibitions, special programming and tickets visit grpm.org.

ArtPrize artist and Army veteran to discuss her journey from soldier to artist during GVSU event

September 14, 2018Citizen Journalism, EntertainmentArtPrize, Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity, Grand Valley State University, GVSU, Kimberly Walker, Veterans Upward BoundJoanne

By Matthew Makowski

GVSU

After retiring from the United States Army in 2015 following 17 years of service, Kimberly Walker began searching for her purpose as an artist, which she eventually found in the form of sharing stories of sexual assault in the military through art.

During this year’s 10th anniversary of ArtPrize, Walker’s piece, “Locked and Loaded,” will be the sole entry located at the Eberhard Center on Grand Valley State University’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

The piece will consist of 46 military-issue duffle bags representing 46 cases of sexual assault in the military. Walker, an Ohio-based artist, said through her research, she discovered that none of the cases were disclosed to the general public.

Walker will discuss her ArtPrize entry, as well as her journey from soldier to artist, during a special presentation on Thursday, Sept. 20. “Finding Your Purpose With Art” will take place at 6 p.m. in room 716 in the Eberhard Center. A reception will precede remarks at 5:30 p.m. outside the Veterans Upward Bound office.

Following Walker’s remarks, Tim Marroquin, director of Veterans Upward Bound, and Krystal Diel, Victim Advocate in Grand Valley’s Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity, will discuss resources on campus available to veterans, current students, victims and survivors of sexual assault, and advocate community members.

“Locked and Loaded” was chosen by members of Grand Valley’s Art Gallery staff during an ArtPrize Pitch Night in May. These events provide artists in five different cities an opportunity to present to judges an idea for a piece of artwork that would be on display at a high-profile venue in Grand Rapids during the competition. The selected artists each received a $5,000 grant to bring their ideas to life.

ArtPrize takes place September 19-October 7.

For more information about this event, visit gvsu.edu/artgallery.

GRAM’s popular exhibitions extended through ArtPrize

August 22, 2018Citizen Journalism, EntertainmentAnila Quayyum Agha, ArtPrize, Dana Friis-Hansen, GRAM, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Intersections, Monir Shahroudy FarmanfarmaianJoanne

By Grand Rapids Art Museum

Visitors to the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) during ArtPrize 2018 will get a special experience as two current exhibitions, Anila Quayyum Agha: Intersections and Mirror Variations: The Art of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, will be on display through Oct. 7, the last day of ArtPrize 2018. During ArtPrize, there will be no admission charge for these exhibitions.

In 2014, Intersections won the ArtPrize Public Vote and Juried Grand Prize, the first and only time in the international art competition’s history. Four years later, Intersections remains equally as popular.

“It was exhilarating to watch GRAM’s ArtPrize visitors encounter Intersections in 2014, and there’s been an amazing response with the return of her work this summer,” said GRAM Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen. “We’re excited to give our guests an extra surprise, allowing them to extend their visit during ArtPrize 10.”

Agha’s work is presented alongside Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, an Iranian artist with an international reputation for sculpture and drawing that fuses traditional Persian patterns based in mathematics with geometric abstract art. Her work develops out of her interest in the serial progression of rectilinear forms, such as triangles, pentagons and hexagons.

“Monir Farmanfarmaian is one of the most fascinating artists in the world—truly an artist of the 21st century,” commented GRAM Chief Curator Ron Platt. “We are delighted to share her works with the diverse audiences that come through GRAM’s doors during ArtPrize 10.”

Both artists create work which draws inspiration from Islamic tradition and modern abstraction, creating objects of great beauty and depth. GRAM’s presentation of the two solo exhibitions is part of its commitment to highlighting works of art by diverse artists year-round.

During ArtPrize 10, the Grand Rapids Art Museum will feature 10 artists along with the exhibits of Farmanfarmaian’s and Agha’s work.

For GRAM’s hours and admission fees, visit artmuseumgr.org or call 616-831-1000.

WKTV Journal: Hugs, Metro Cruise, and Getting Involved

August 14, 20183-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming28th Street Metro Cruise, Agatha Christie, ArtPrize, Chris Hall, Community Development Committee, Jenison Center for Performing Arts, Meoshia Thomson, Rogers PlazaJoanne

In the latest segment of the WKTV Journal, we sit-down with Kentwood artist Meoshia Thomson who discusses the power of hugs, a key element in her 2018 ArtPrize submission.

We also take a sneak peek into the upcoming 28th Street Metro Cruise, which is set for Aug. 24 and 25 at Rogers Plaza and catch up with a group of Wyoming and Kentwood actors who are in one of Agatha Christie’s most famous plays, “And Then There Were None,” set to be performed at the Jension Center for Performing Arts.

Wyoming resident Chris Hall visits with us to talk about the Wyoming’s Community Development Committee, which serves as an advisory board to the Wyoming City Council on the federally-funded Community Block Development Grants. The committee has openings for Wyoming residents with Chris noting it is an excellent way to get involved with the Wyoming committee.

Lastly, we take a trip down memory lane with Wyoming History Commission member Bill Branz and WKTV Contributor Katey Batey as they talk about S&H Green Stamps.

ArtPrize winner returns to the GRAM in series of exhibits that represents diversity

May 31, 20183-bottom, Citizen JournalismAnila Agha, ArtPrize, GRAM, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Intersections, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Oswaldo VigasJoanne

Anila Agha’s “Intersections” is at the Grand Rapids Art Museum through Aug. 26.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

This summer, the Grand Rapids Art Museum celebrates diversity with three shows featuring artists from Pakistan, Iran, and South America.

“It does turn out to be that way but it wasn’t exactly what we set out to do,” said Grand Rapids Art Museum Chief Curator Ron Platt. “We always strive to represent diversity in our programming, so we are really happy about the convergence of these shows.”

In 2014, Anila Agha took ArtPrize by storm with her installation “Intersections,” featuring a large cube with a light bulb in the center that helped to reflect out the patterns and ornamentation inspired from traditional Islamic architecture and design. The piece, which hung in the GRAM in 2014, won both the ArtPrize Public Vote and Juried Grand Prize.

It returns to the museum with the exhibit “Mirror Viariations: the Art of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian.” An Iranian artist, Farmanfarmaian is known for creating work which draws inspiration from Islamic tradition and modern abstraction. Now 90, she was the first Iranian artist of her generation to use cut-glass mosaics as a medium, as art without religious function.

The work of Monir Farmanfarmaian is up through Aug. 26.

“These shows are very engaging for people of all ages and people who are art fans and people who are causal art viewers,” Platt said. “The Farmanfarmaian show includes intricate mirror mosaics crafting that I think is astonishing in how complex and beautiful it is.

“It also has, at its base. geometry which you know is a universal language in itself which is something that kids learn and study about, and everybody knows what squares, triangles, and rectangles are. It’s amazing to see what she is doing with those shapes.”

The “Mirrors Variations” exhibit is centered around large sculptural reliefs with surfaces of cut mirror mosaic and reverse-glass painting. The materials were used extensively in traditional Persian architecture, an inspiration to the artist.

There is a variety of programming planned around the Agha and Farmanfarmaian exhibits including artist talks, a film screening, and drop-in tours. For more visit, www.artmuseumgr.org.

In a separate exhibit, located on the first floor, is “Oswaldo Vigas: Transformations,” which is the first solo exhibit of the Venezuelan artist in the United States.

“The Vigas show is really interesting because it covers a 40-year period of his work,” Platt said. “It is paintings and drawings, and it looks at how his drawing practice forms his paintings but also shows how he moved through different styles but still remained interested in ideas about mythology and Latin American identity in his work.”

“Mirror Variations” and “Intersections” will be up through Aug. 26. “Transformations will be up through Sept. 2. The Grand Rapids Art Museum is located at 101 Monroe Ave. NW.

5 Local Things You Need to Know: Headlines for the Week

May 29, 20183-bottom, Citizen JournalismActive Commute Week, ArtPrize, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Lee High School, Roger B. ChaffeeJoanne

Roger B. Chaffee By NASA/photographer unknown – NASA [1] Great Images in NASA Description, Public Domain

Wyoming and Kentwood: WKTV Journal Newscast

The latest WKTV Newscast takes a look at the new Roger B. Chaffee statute that was dedicated in May along with celebrating Older American Month with Holland Home. To get residents ready for the summer, we take a peak at the summer concerts in the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming and look at the summer exhibits that have opened at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

For the full broadcast, click here.

Wyoming: Lee High School’s Top Ten

University of Michigan, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan University, these are just some of the places that that the top 10 of Lee High School’s Class of 2018 are heading.

For more on the story, click here.

Wyoming: Active Commute Week Challenge

It’s that time again when many area residents will take the challenge and leave their vehicle at home. June 11 – 15 is Active Commute Week, where commuters are encouraged to consider how they get to work and seek other ways that help benefit the environment.

For more on the story, click here.

Viewed from left and right, “Let Go” by Pamela Alderman. (Courtesy of the artist Alderman)

Kent County: ArtPrize Top 25 artists donates piece

When Pamela Alderman created “Let Go” for ArtPrize in 2017, she was looking to impact the audience with a large interactive piece. Alderman‘s work, an ArtPrize Top 25 finalist, is a beautiful seascape on five large wood panels that includes three Plexiglas figures that transform as you move around the artwork. The work was installed this month on the fifth floor of the Kent County Courthouse.

For more on the story, click here.

Kent County: Students get the chance to be the change

A local radio group is teaming up with local organizations and businesses to provide Grand Rapids area students with funding, resources and mentors to implement the change they want to see in their community.

The #GRSummerProject is open to area students from sixth grade to college freshmen. The project is a collaboration led by Townsquare Media and includes the support of Level One Bank, Start Garden, Experience Grand Rapids, Amplify GR and Grand Rapids area schools.

For more on the story, click here.

DeVos Place ArtPrize piece installer wins Tennessee Tiny House Festival award

October 5, 20173-bottomArtPrize, devos place, Gypsy Queen, Tennessee Tiny House FestivalJoanne

By Hilarie Szarowicz

DeVos Place

ArtPrize is in full swing and DeVos Place painter, Scott Luce, of Grand Rapids, is enjoying the results of his hours of hard work leading up to the competition. Luce works with artists every year to help install their pieces in the convention center, but is also an artist and craftsman himself. He recently participated in the 2017 Tennessee Tiny House Festival with his Gypsy Queen Bowtop camper on Sept.r 8-10. With more than 35 homes, micro-houses, skoolies, DIYs, vintage campers, and other minis registered for the Tiny House Festival, Luce’s custom DIY-built Gypsy wagon won “Best Bohemian Living.” Luce’s entry was also the only camper to win an award that weekend.

“This was the first time I attended a festival like this, and I was inspired by all the beautiful tiny houses and great ideas that were being shown,” said Luce. His Gypsy wagon was custom built with a fold-up feature that seemed to amaze everyone at the festival. He hosted four demonstrations during the week, all which had great attendance. He was presented with a hand crafted, wood-burned plaque for his win.

Scott Luce is also a familiar face at DeVos Place during ArtPrize as an artist. In 2012, he entered Grand Illumination, an abstract architectural sculpture representing the synergy of historic materials with a modern twist. Luce’s piece was carved from the granite steps of what used to be the historic Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium. Joined by three multi-colored lanterns, the antique Italian glass originated from six ceiling lights from the former venue.

“It was my intent, with this piece, to honor the grandeur and timeless beauty of the Civic, while recognizing the modern beauty found in our current DeVos Place Convention Center,” said Luce.

DeVos Place is hosting 53 ArtPrize entries this year. “El Sueno Americano (The American Dream)” by Tom Kiefer made the Juried Awards Shortlist and two pieces have been named as Top 20 Public Vote finalists: “Crowns of Courage” by Amanda Gilbert, David Burgess and Steven Stone and Early January on the Pearl Street Bridge by Melodee Jackson.

‘VOICES: a community history project’ rolls out red carpet at ArtPrize Nine

October 2, 20173-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Local History, Our Cities, Veterans, WKTV Projectsarchives, ArtPrize, oral history, stories, Video recording, VOICESJoanne

By Victoria Mullen, WKTV

With the second weekend of ArtPrize in full swing and people casting last-minute votes for their favorite works of art, Wyoming-Kentwood Community Media’s VOICES: a community history project powered by WKTV rolled out the red carpet and welcomed scores of visitors to tour our renovated 1958 Airstream® mobile studio and learn more about the oral history project.

VOICES collects, preserves, and shares the stories of West Michigan people from all backgrounds and beliefs, with a focus on Wyoming, Kentwood and the greater Grand Rapids area.

VOICES is a free public service, offering a comfortable video recording studio with a relaxed atmosphere. High-tech video and audio equipment records the stories of our neighbors, friends and family — any story from anyone — that make up the fabric of our lives and our community. Participants tell their stories of hardships and successes, of what shaped them and their families into the kind of people they are today. Our lives, experiences, joys, sorrows, triumphs and tragedies are what make us all human.

Interviews usually take place between two people who know and care about each other. They can be friends, family or mere acquaintances. At the end of each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a complimentary DVD of their interview. Each recording is also archived with the Library of Congress.

Interviews can be “life reviews,” conducted with people at the end of their careers. Or they can focus on a specific period or a specific event in people’s lives, as with war veterans or survivors of an earthquake, flood or hurricane.

VOICES is available year-round. Our mobile studio will be at ArtPrize Nine again, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6-7 from 10am-8pm*. Thereafter, it will travel to other locations.

To reserve a time to tell your story, go here.

Upcoming dates at other locations:

Monday-Friday, Oct. 16-20 — Wyoming Public Library (3350 Michael Ave SW, Wyoming, MI) from 10am-8pm*, and Monday-Thursday, Oct. 23-Oct. 26, from 10am-8pm*.

Monday-Thursday, Nov. 6-9 and Monday-Thursday, Nov. 13-16 — Kentwood Public Library (4950 Breton Rd SE, Kentwood, MI), from 10am-8pm*.

*Last appointment of the day is 7pm.

During ArtPrize, the Grand Rapids Public Museum has half price admission

September 28, 20173-bottom, Citizen JournalismArtPrize, Bil Rinderknecht, Grand Rapids Public Museum, GRPM, reduced admissionJoanne

The Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Supplied)

During ArtPrize Nine the Grand Rapids Public Museum will be open with regular Museum hours and half off general admission fees.

This means that a Kent County adult resident who would normally pay $5 would pay $2.50. Kent County seniors and students go from $3 to $1.50 each.

The Museum will be showcasing “Brain: The World Inside Your Head” traveling exhibit, free with paid admission. This exhibit takes visitors through the human head, learning about neurons firing, how the brain works and much more.

The GRPM will once again host an outdoor exhibition in which the artwork will visually lend itself to the setting of the Museum grounds. Each year the GRPM curates a rewarding experience with approachable art that is intriguing, distinctive and engages the viewer’s capacity for awe and curiosity. Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids along the busy river walkway, the GRPM is able to offer a 24-hour experience.

The GRPM will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays of ArtPrize. For more information about artists, exhibitions, special programming and tickets visit grpm.org.

ArtPrize piece on ‘Flint’ receiving attention from artists, public

September 22, 20173-bottom, Citizen JournalismACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, ArtPrize, ArtPrize Nine, flint, Fountain Street Church, Social Justice, Ti-Rock MooreJoanne

“Flint” by Ti-Rock Moore is on display at Fountain Street Church as part of the church’s ArtPrize Nine exhibition.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

ArtPrize has barely been open a week and Ti-Rock Moore’s piece has already been called “moving” and “powerful.”

The piece, titled “Flint” is brown water constantly flowing from a bright white water fountain. The purpose of the piece, signals the ongoing situation in the majority black town, as well as, the extreme limitations placed on communities of color due to flawed infrastructures that privilege the needs of affluent and of the predominantly white communities, according to Moore’s ArtPrize artist statement. In 2014, lead was discovered in the Flint water system after cost-cutting measures. The city still does not have safe water to drink for all of its citizens.

Moore’s piece, which is on display as part of the Fountain Street Church ArtPrize Nine exhibition, recently receive the American Civil Liberties Union Award during a special reception at the church for ArtPrize artists and friends.

“Our Constitution provides for equal protect of the law,” said the jurors’ statement. “Civil rights laws protect against discrimination based on age, race, religion, gender, disability, and national origin. Ti-Rock Moore’s art reveals a stunning example of injustice against people of color based on the condition of municipal finances in the City of Flint, Michigan. People were poisoned because of money.”

Born and raised in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Moore followed disparate career paths before emerging in 2014 with protest works created, in part, in response to the devastating, lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina. At that time, Moore renamed herself in homage to colorful and controversial twentieth-century painter Noel Rockmore, a New Yorker turned New Orleanian who, like Moore, had been the child of artists. Moore’s self-identification (petit or ‘tit in local parlance) with the mercurial Rockmore as a kind of spiritual protégé positions her within both local history and artistic traditions, while her work focuses on dismantling the structures that support racism.

In “Flint,” the public water fountain has long been a passive symbol of separatism in the United States, one of the more visible manifestations of the Jim Crow era. Although the legal dismantling of the Jim Crow system of apartheid took place more than half a century ago, The Unites States remains deeply divided by race and class, according to a press release from Fountain Street Church. In such a volatile historical moment, the role of the artist is paramount, even essential, as a voice that both incites and instructs all of us to not remain complacent and to act upon our beliefs and stand up for what is moral and just, the press release states. If not now, we might ask ourselves, when? We are in just such a moment that requires—no, demands our attention and our action: to either squelch the flames of hatred and intolerance once and for all, or to stand by and watch as we reduce everything to embers.

Fountain Street Church is one of a few ArtPrize venues that award cash prizes to its participating artists. Along with the ACLU Award, which is a $1,000, the church also award a Social Action Committee Award, which was presented to Patrick Foran, Bufafalo, New York, for “State of Exception.” “We were fascinated by how Patrick Foran took iconic media imagery and, with an economy of means, presented a triptych full of foreboding. He reminds us of the power of imagery to form our understanding of the news we are bombarded by each day. The scale of the images and the mastery of craft help crystallize his powerful statement.”

The jurors were Kendall College of Art and Design Professor Emeritus and artist Darlene Kaczmarczyk and artist, social activist, and dedicated ACLU supporter Max Matteson. The jurors also presented two $250 Special Recognition Awards to Rebekah Modrak, of Ann Arbor, for “TheImplicit Jacques Panis on Shinola’s Quest to Revive American Manufacturing,” and Nick Reszet, of Reno, Nevada, for “Transitus.”

Twenty-six artists are featured at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain Ave. NE, all who have works that represent the venue’s theme “Art to Change the World: Inspiring Social Justice.” The exhibit is open during regular ArtPrize hours, noon to 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday and noon – 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information about Fountain Street Church and its ArtPrize exhibition, visit http://www.artprize.org/fountain-street-church

Fishes, color-in-art, just some of the ArtPrize offerings from Kentwood, Wyoming artists

September 21, 20173-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of WyomingArtPrize, ArtPrize Nine, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Gerald R. Ford International Airport, godfrey Lee Public Schools, Holiday Inn, Jerry Berta, Kenwood Public SchoolsJoanne

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

If you head down to ArtPrize this year, chances are you won’t be able to miss the large group of fish swimming across the Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown.

The piece, which faces Pearl Street across from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and near the U.S. 131 entrance/exit ramps, is the ArtPrize entry of artist and Kentwood Public School teacher Jerry Berta.

Berta worked with students from the Kentwood Public Schools. Students glued laser cut scraps together for the fish which were arranged to create a giant wave of fish, just like a school of fish swimming together. According to Berta’s artist statement on the ArtPrize website, the piece – titled “We Are All Different Fish But We All Swim Together!” – is about diversity and how people may be different but they can work together to create a better world.

“This is one of the biggest pieces at ArtPRize created by the most diverse student body in the state,” Berta said in his statement. Kentwood Public Schools has more than 70 different languages spoken at its buildings with the City of Kentwood know of its diverse population with residents from such countries as Vietnam, Korea, and Bosnia.

Students, staff, and parents from Kentwood’s Discovery, Meadowlawn, Explorer and Bowen elementary schools helped bring this piece together. Students from Valleywood Middle School, under the guidance of Alicia Fuller, and East Kentwood High School, under the guidance of Jon Bouck, and students from Charlevoix’s St. Mary’s School, also contributed to the project.

Berta, who lives in Rockford and is the man behind Dinerland and Rosie’s Diner, is just one of several artists representing the Wyoming and Kentwood areas at this year’s ArtPrize taking place in downtown Grand Raids through Oct. 8.

Marking its ninth year, ArtPrize is an open, independently organized international art competition that takes place 19 days in the fall. More than $500,000 in prizes are awarded each year which includes a $200,000 prize awarded by a public vote and another $200,000 prize awarded by a jury of art experts. Round 1 voting is currently underway until Sept. 30. On Oct. 1, the Final 20 are announced with Round 2 voting for just those in the Final 20 opening. Round 2 voting closes Oct. 5 with winners announced at the ArtPrize Awards.

Also having an entry in this year’s event is Godfrey Lee Public Schools kindergarten teacher Susan Sheets Odo, whose piece ,“A Colorful Michigan,” is at Grand Woods Lounge, 77 Grandville Ave. SW. Odo, who is also a Wyoming Public Schools board member, said in her artist statement that “A Colorful Michigan” is an interactive coloring piece. Featuring landmarks of Michigan mixed with designs, mandalas, floral patterns, and patterns found in the different cultures of the people who live in West Michigan, visitors are invited to leave their mark by helping to color the piece.

Wyoming Public Schools mentor Khalilah Yvonne hopes to encourage youth all over the world to stand up and let their voices be heard through her piece “Silence Broken.” Located at Grand Rapids City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW, Apt. 4, the piece is based on Yvonne’s own personal experience of being a victim of sexual assault, according to her artist statement.

If you head over to Grand Valley Artists, Inc., at 1345 Monroe Ave. NW, 140, you will be able to see Wyoming resident Nona (Voss) Bushman’s unique jewelry pieces. A graduate of Wyoming Park High School and Western Michigan University, Bushman’s piece is “Lost in Your Beauty.” Also showing at Grand valley Artists, Inc. is Wyoming resident Katherine Kreutziger’s painting “Autumn Hunt of a Lone Wolf.”

Other local artists are: Wyoming resident Nicole Bluekamp’s “Intoxication of Passion” is at Rockwell Republic, 45 S. Division Ave., and Wyoming resident Karin Nelson’s piece “Trees in the Park” is at the Women’s City Club, 254 E. Fulton St.

There are more than 170 venues for this year’s ArtPrize and one of them is not that far from Wyoming and Kentwood. For the first time, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport is a venue featuring seven artists with works in the upstairs observation deck, east end of the terminal building, and outdoors under the trademark GFIA canopy and welcome wall.

The pieces featured at the airport are “TOTEM of a Michigan Woman” by Sharron Ansell, of Kalamazoo; “Sanutario de la Monarch,” by Dalice Ceballos, of Mexico; “We are Fruitport Building on a Legacy,” by Fruitport High School Visual Arts Team; “Our Love Connects All Happiness,” by Haruko Furukawa, of New Zealand; “Fly Away With Me,” by Mariia Rykhlovska, of Los Angeles; “Elements of a Japanese Garden,” by Judy A. Steiner, of Grand Rapids; and “Kitty Hawk,” by Brett Walker, of East Tawas, Mich.

Just further up on the East Beltline, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline NE, is also a venue again this year. For more on what is featured at the Gardens, click here.

To learn more about the artists, venues, voting or to register to vote in this year’s ArtPrize competition, go to artprize.org.

WKTV’s ‘VOICES: A Community history Project’ launches at ArtPrize Nine

September 18, 2017Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of WyomingAirstream, ArtPrize, VOICES, WKTVJoanne

Announcing the rollout of VOICES: A community history project powered by WKTV at ArtPrize Nine! ‘VOICES’ is the local and regional oral history project powered by WKTV Community Media.

Our portable recording studio travels throughout Wyoming, Kentwood—the entire Grand Rapids metro area—gathering the true-life stories—any story from anyone—that make up the fabric of our lives and our community. Our mission is “to collect, share and preserve the stories of people in our community”—the stories of our lives; the stories of people from all walks of life.

Our 28-foot, vintage Airstream® Overlander trailer will be parked across from Rosa Parks Circle on Monroe Center Ave. NW Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23; and at the intersec- tion of Monroe NW and Lyon NW, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

VOICES invites ArtPrize attendees to stop on by, have a look at this beautifully restored Airstream, get to know us and, if they’d like, to tell us their story. You can talk about any- thing — your love for art, your favorite family memory, an event in your family’s life — whatever it is, as long as it’s you or your family’s personal oral history, it’s worth it.

After ArtPrize, VOICES will roll on! The VOICES Airstream will make regular appearances at various locations throughout Kent County, beginning with the KDL Wyoming Branch Oct. 16-20 and 23-26. Then it’s on to the Kentwood Public Library Nov. 6-9 and 13-16. More dates are currently being negotiated.

To reserve a time to tell your story, go to www.wktvvoices.org. Registration is always FREE— bring a friend or family member to talk about your memories, your history, your life!

There are only a limited number of time slots available, so be sure to register TODAY!

Your memories. Your history. Your life.

Art and science…together?

The creation of a flying jewel

A giant painting? No problem!

Click on the slideshow arrows (located on right and left sides of each picture) below to view the complete process of creating the Pixels of Life backdrop (Courtesy, Katie Hammond)

Every story has a beginning…

20 years of funky…

“Anybody can do this; I’m not a genius”

How to find Pixels of Life

Share in the wonder of art and science

Driftwood, rocks and agates – oh my!

Finding solace in nature’s artwork

Natural elements and mixed media

A change in plans and sleepless nights

Michigan memories

A late bloomer in art

Making a connection

‘Hi, Axel’

Celebrating Kent County Sheriff’s K9 unit

Sharing with the community who loved him

Taking a stroll to see what can be seen

Using art to give people a ‘voice’

Inspiration knows no age

Animals, quilts and more

Grand Rapids Art Museum

The Grand Rapids Public Museum

John Ball Zoo

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

ArtRat

Wyoming’s First Public Market

It’s back

Now Open

Fun Fact: Ferris Wheels

Listen to Irish Music

See a public art exhibit

Host a Virtual Game Night

Fun Fact: A whole lot of pie

Saturday, Sept. 7, presented by DTE Foundation

Saturday, Sept. 14, presented by Meijer

Saturday, Sept. 28, presented by DisArt and SiTE:LAB

Saturday, Oct. 26

About Project 1 by ArtPrize

Quote of the Day

Don’t Forget to Vote!

Keeping it Real

The Leaves Are Changing – Yea!

Fun Fact:

1.32 Acres

Quote of the Day

Kentwood artist’s HUG exhibit an extension of who she is

Stars of one ArtPrize exhibit is the Wyoming Police K-9 unit

WKTV wants the VOICES of not just artists, but the voters as well

And today’s fun fact:

3 seconds

Quote of the Day

ArtPrize venues you might not think about

Picking time in local orchards, and who’s doing the work

Stories from the road with Kentwood bicyclist

And today’s fun fact (bicyclist history):

268.8 km/h

Wyoming and Kentwood: WKTV Journal Newscast

Wyoming: Lee High School’s Top Ten

Wyoming: Active Commute Week Challenge

Kent County: ArtPrize Top 25 artists donates piece

Kent County: Students get the chance to be the change

**Art and science…together?**

ArtPrize venues you
might not think about

Picking time in local orchards,
and who’s doing the work

Stories from the road
with Kentwood bicyclist

And today’s fun fact
(bicyclist history):