Art Prize, Grand Rapids 2009

I must say that I have had more discussions about art with more people in the past month than I have had in the past five years. Regardless of what else Artprize has accomplished, it has certainly brought art to the attention of a lot of people and to their daily conversation. I think that is a phenomenal success in itself.
I encouraged my students and their families to visit Grand Rapids during the event and many did. On Monday morning it was not hard to spot those that made a weekend trip to some of the venues. They were the ones bouncing down the hallway calling my name and saying "I got to go to Artprize! I got to go to Artprize! Did you see.....?"
I took my kindergarten daughter down on opening night and she was enthralled. When we took my mom and dad back to one of the galleries a week later, she gave them a complete tour recounting every observation and technical detail that we had discussed on our previous visit. It was one of those magical moments.
I enjoyed the work a great deal. Sure, some of it had more depth and displayed more creativity or mastery, but it was fun to see and discuss all of it. I like that the organizers didn't try to sort and select the art ahead of time. It is what it is. Let us see it and respond.
If you don't know what I am talking about, this post title will take you to the Artprize site.