Art Prize Nine: when the city of Grand Rapids comes alive

The 90 degree heat wave has passed and it is officially fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan which means Art Prize is here! This is the time each year that the city becomes clogged with tourists and overflowing with different forms of art: 2D, 3D, sculptures, installations, paintings, photography, portraits, etc. Artists display their work all over the city both indoors, in the river, and in different venues.

I brought my Polaroid camera with me because I wanted to feel like a tourist in my hometown. In the foreground is an entry for art prize that are floating orange men on inner tubes in the Grand River. They represent refugees. The three large buildings in the back are the Amway, DeVos, and hotel/apartments.

After we finally found parking, the first venue we went into was the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Scout the Frisbee Dog, by Jim Craig. Vote # 64935:

I personally want to ask him to make a sculpture of my dog...

Bit-by-Bit by Marie Wohadlo. Vote #65203:

This was a beautiful beaded glass woven shawl. It was hard to tell what it was up close, so we took a step back and saw the beautiful birch winter forest. She used 168,603 glass beads to construct this.

Motor Bot and his Spare Parts Buddies by Anthony. Vote #66365:


This was a homeless man who said he was living at Mel Trotter Ministries homeless shelter in Grand Rapids and looking for his way out. He started collecting random parts and welding them into sculptures. After Art Prize is over, he is auctioning off all of his pieces. He said he was sitting in the shelter and said he wanted to get out. Sadly he said he was to chain down his sculptures at night because people stole them.

Portrait of Motown by Ann Rather. Vote #65670:

We continued on our way towards Rosa Parks Circle, which was one of the most congested areas. There were food trucks lined up outside the Art Museum. Ferris Coffee is the official coffee of Art Prize. I visited their coffee truck outside the museum for a delicious almond milk cappuccino.

Digital Landscape by Amy Helminiak. Vote #65846:


My boyfriend was a little upset that an emoji/sticker collage is considered art. Can you spot Bernie Sanders?

Income Inequality, Imagine by Jordyn Fishman. Vote #65746:

Arctic Abrasians by Elaine Spatz-Rabinowitz. Vote #66552


This was one of our favorites from the day. The shades of blue were so beautiful and expressive. The artist traveled to Antarctica for two weeks to photograph. She then used the photographs as inspiration. This is oil on transferred photo emulsion on cast Hydrocal mounted on aluminum.

One of our favorites was an installation where a poet was writing on the spot for people walking through. You could also write your own poem and throw it on the ground for someone to else to pick up. This artist was a winner of a contest held in Durham, North Carolina to win a grant to be able to participate in Art Prize.

A few very cool castles and ships:

What do you classify as art? What's your favorite type of art?