ArtPrize 2025 has officially wrapped, leaving a lasting impression throughout downtown Grand Rapids.
In this episode of West Michigan Weekend, host Phil Tower welcomes back Catlin Whitington, Executive Director of ArtPrize, to reflect on the success of this year’s international art competition and its evolving role in our community.
Inside This Episode, we discuss:
Celebrating the Winners: We discuss the $100,000 Grand Prize winner who captivated both the public voters and the juried art judges.
Public Vote Winner: Mark Lewanski’s stunning installation, Arras.
Juried Award Winner: Scraps, an evocative textile installation by the artistic duo Second Vibess (Camille Steverson and Kaitlynn Fitzpatrick).
The Evolution of ArtPrize: Catlin shares how the event has matured, becoming a more decentralized, global stage for art, and still maintaining the accessibility factor for artists from all walks of life.
The crowds are back: ArtPrize 2025 saw crowds that were more in line with the pre-COVID numbers that the event had drawn before.
Digital Engagement: A look at how the public interacted with the art this year through QR codes and the impact of digital voting on the visitor experience.
Economic & Cultural Impact: Beyond the galleries and venues, we explore what ArtPrize means for West Michigan’s economy and how it continues to shape Grand Rapids' identity on a global scale. Catlin shared that the economic impact of ArtPrize for 2025 exceeded $80 million.
ArtPrize Runs On Donor Support: donations keep this world-class event free and accessible to all. Donations also help provide $200,000 in grants to artists, as well as access for thousands of Michigan students experiencing ArtPrize this year. Make a secure donation to ArtPrize here.
ArtPrize 2026 planning is underway. The next event is September 17 through October 3, 2026.
More Online: ArtPrize
In this episode of West Michigan Weekend, host Phil Tower welcomes back Catlin Whitington, Executive Director of ArtPrize, to reflect on the success of this year’s international art competition and its evolving role in our community.
Inside This Episode, we discuss:
Celebrating the Winners: We discuss the $100,000 Grand Prize winner who captivated both the public voters and the juried art judges.
Public Vote Winner: Mark Lewanski’s stunning installation, Arras.
Juried Award Winner: Scraps, an evocative textile installation by the artistic duo Second Vibess (Camille Steverson and Kaitlynn Fitzpatrick).
The Evolution of ArtPrize: Catlin shares how the event has matured, becoming a more decentralized, global stage for art, and still maintaining the accessibility factor for artists from all walks of life.
The crowds are back: ArtPrize 2025 saw crowds that were more in line with the pre-COVID numbers that the event had drawn before.
Digital Engagement: A look at how the public interacted with the art this year through QR codes and the impact of digital voting on the visitor experience.
Economic & Cultural Impact: Beyond the galleries and venues, we explore what ArtPrize means for West Michigan’s economy and how it continues to shape Grand Rapids' identity on a global scale. Catlin shared that the economic impact of ArtPrize for 2025 exceeded $80 million.
ArtPrize Runs On Donor Support: donations keep this world-class event free and accessible to all. Donations also help provide $200,000 in grants to artists, as well as access for thousands of Michigan students experiencing ArtPrize this year. Make a secure donation to ArtPrize here.
ArtPrize 2026 planning is underway. The next event is September 17 through October 3, 2026.
More Online: ArtPrize
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly programmed designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
And welcome in happy new year.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
It is West Michigan Weekend, and it's always an honor
and pleasure to have you join us. Across whatever iHeartRadio
station you may be listening to. I am your host,
Phil Tower. In just a moment, Catlin Whittington, the executive
director for Art Prize, unpacks Art Prize twenty twenty five.
There was a lot that happened, a lot to talk about,
including the public vote grand Prize winner and the juried
(00:43):
Grand prize winner which has quite a story. A juried
winner named Scraps. You're going to want to hear that
story and my full conversation with Katln Whittington, executive director
of Art Prize. That's just around the corner. Don't forget
every episode of this program available wherever you get your
favorite podcast. Just search West Michigan Weekend. Our most downloaded
(01:06):
episodes of the year include Embracing What Matters Most in
the fourth Quarter of Your Life with doctor Allen Hunt
that came in at number three from April of this year.
How Down to Defend educates and equips people with developmental
and intellectual disabilities from May of this year, and our
most downloaded podcast from twenty twenty five for West Michigan Weekend,
(01:29):
a segment we did in August with Kevin Matthews Radio
Legend to Broken Mary's Roady. You can hear that episode
and all of our previous episodes from twenty twenty five
and beyond wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. You
can also go to Woodradio dot com left hand side
of the page. Stick around our full conversation with Ourt
(01:51):
Prize Executive director Catlin Whittington just fifteen seconds away here
on this iHeartRadio station. May can I.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Sit in the front seat just this one time?
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Please? Please? Please?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
No, not yet?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
But why because I love you and you're just not
ready yet.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Now get in the back so I can get you
in your car seat.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
Please. Putting your kids in the right seat for their
age in size is an act of love. Check that
your kids are in the right seat at NITZA dot
gov slash the right seat. I Love protects a message
from NITSA and the ad.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Council, and thank you so much for tuning in here
to West Michigan Weekend again. I'm Phil Tower. I am
in studio. It's actually going to be back in studio
with Katlen Whittington, executive director of Art Price. Now, normally
we do this conversation leading up to our Price. Well,
Catlyn and I got busy this year and we didn't
do that pre Art Prize conversation. So Catal and I
(02:50):
standing outside of a dunk tank and that's another story.
We decided we need to do a recap of our
Prize twenty twenty five, which was September eighteenth through October fourth.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Glad to have you back in the studio.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Glad to be here, Phil, and we'll tell that dunk
tank story on another episode of West Michigan Weekend. A
lot too unpack here to reflect on Art Prize twenty
twenty five. We are recording this conversation at the end
of December, and you've had several weeks now to look
back on this. First and foremost, the grand prize winner,
(03:23):
at least the public voting grand prize winner, we want
to mention was Mark Lewansky's how do you say that?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Is it rs r us?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yes, so the public vote Grand Prize, which got a
lot of buzz, a lot of media coverage, and that
was a really unique story. And the twenty twenty five
Art Prized Juried Grand Prize winner was Scraps, an installation
created by the artistic duo of Camille Stevenson and Caitlin Fitzpatrick.
(03:50):
They have a shop in downtown gr called Second Vibes.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Right, Yeah, really cool little vintage shop overrun South Division.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
And this is a great story, Katlan, and we'll talk
about that in just a moment. These guys had never
done anything for our prize, and they put together something
really special. It was created from cast off fabrics and
found fabrics, and they basically created a pretty powerful and
evocative art commentary on sustainability, memory and shared our identity,
(04:20):
and the jury to artists of six juried artists loved
it at first price one hundred thousand dollars in both categories.
First of all, are you finally breathing normally after you know,
we're several weeks removed?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Yeah, Yeah, it's exciting to get back on the other side. Obviously,
we're working really hard towards twenty twenty six already, but
it's great to get out on the other side and
really to think back and look back on the good
work and the impact that we had over.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
This last year.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I didn't really think about all the successes we had
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
How many years will twenty twenty six be for our price.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
That'll be the sixteenth installation of Art Prize, a sixteenth
annual event, and it'll mark my fourth year in leadership
and under this new public private partnership model.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
And just a real quick sidebar to that planning. This
is not like the Major League Baseball season, where after
you win the World Series to take a month off,
you get a short respue, respite and then you're back.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Into it, right, Yeah, short resp But if we're lucky.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
The reality is is that we're constantly planning out a
year and ahead, years in ahead, and thinking about what
we're going to do in the coming years and the
coming seasons, and really continuing to try to evolve and
bring the new and exciting to Art Prize each and
every year. And that's everything from the events that we produce,
(05:42):
the artists, the outreach, the community partners that we engage in.
We keep having the conversations and that's a big part
of what Art Prize does is bring these dynamic conversations
to bear.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
You and I had this conversation ahead of your first
Art Prize and now you've got four years you kind
of look behind you.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Are you where you'd hope to be at this point?
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I am. I've seen we have seen as a community
a resurgence and Art Prize and a reinvigoration of what
it can mean when it's done intentionally and with a
lot of effort to make it all that it can
be for, not just for the artists, for the venues,
for the community as a whole. We saw almost a
million people come in for our prize and visit Art
(06:25):
Prize this year, which is an amazing feat and those
numbers are a huge growth over previous years. And we
continue to see the relevance of what we do, in
the impact of what we do.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I was talking to an art critic and writer out
of New York, Carlos McCormick a while back, Carlo McCormick
a while back, and Carlo I had met him in
Miami after twenty twenty three. So this is December twenty
twenty three and I was about to board the plane
back to Grand Rapids and I got an email from
Carlo and he said, I want you to just remember
(06:59):
how how important this work you are doing in democratizing art,
democratizing art is and what it means for the art
world at broadly. And we continue to look back on this,
and this really underscores the reason in the mission why
we do this. This is not a two dimensional arts exhibit.
This is a very engaging opportunity to bring this culmination
(07:23):
of experience, exhibition and education, arts education all together under
glorious seventeen days in downtown Grand Rapids, which is an
amazing feat to have this kind of decentralized exhibition and
experience happen.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
A couple of things I want to go back to
you there. First of all, I'm a big believer in
praise and I love that. It's not very often to
hear a guy like that calling you, the executive director
of our prize, saying you need to celebrate what you
just did.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
That had to be really encouraging quite a bit.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Yes, it really was. And it was after my first
year and really thinking back on it. It meant a lot,
especially leaving the pomp and circumstance that is our basel
in Miami and hearing it from him after meeting him there,
and he said, all of this stuff you just saw
is the art world, and what you're doing is the
antithesis of that, and it's an important thing, and that
means a lot.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
The other thing I want to come back to in
that story, which is a great story Catlin Whittington, is
the democratization of art. I don't think people stop and
understand the significance of that.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So for the everyday Joe.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Sixpack guy who's maybe listening to this, who looks at
art and maybe it's the Dog's shooting pool in three
D or something great piece. But seriously, it's important because
it's bringing art to the people. I mean, that was
the whole concept in the beginning, but it's more than that.
Can you help us unpack what that term means to
you and your team and art prize?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Well, it's a bit twofold.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
I like to think of the traditional arts experience as
being a very two dimensional, a very true dimensional level
of engagement. Right, you go to a museum, the museum is.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Curated to work.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Could I say this is the good work that you
should come and see. My wife gets mad at me
when I talk loud enough for the docents to hear,
And I said, this is a gallery, this is a museum.
It's not a library. You know, We're allowed to have opinions.
And I think that's the beauty of art prize is
not only is the curation often decentralized between the venues
and the artists themselves. We celebrate living artists. We ask
(09:24):
the artists to come and participate. These aren't galleries, these
aren't curators, these are artists themselves. These are venues. But
then the experience of how these million people, which is
a huge number for any kind of arts institution, how
does million people actually engage with that on a day
to day level through the act of voting and selecting
(09:45):
the winners, but also through the act of communicating, engaging
with the artists that are here and they're present. And
I think that this creates a different experience. We're all
involved in what art can mean and how we can
embrace art in our lives as a living, breathing, and
frankly multi dimensional experience, which is not one that you
(10:06):
normally get in a traditional arts institution, and I think
that is really what sets Art Prize apart and makes
it a very special and unique thing.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
And what I love what you just did there was
throw me a softball to go back to Camille Stevenson
and Caitlin Fitzpatrick, because that's exactly what happened there. These
were two people who have never done anything like that,
but people who were really proud of their second hand
store second excuse me, second hand store, which is called
(10:38):
Second Vibes, and they decided to put together in our
prize entry that was so powerful it won the Art
Prize jurid Grand Prize of one hundred thousand dollars, which
again these are people that had never done.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Artah for It's pretty amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
A couple young creatives. They've been a venue the last
few years and obviously we love all of our venues
down in the hard Side Business Association in the Business
district down there, and Second Vibes is a cornerstone business
down there.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
But they put together not just.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
An upcycled fashion line from that they had created themselves,
but they created a whole installation around it with upcycled
materials and really created a space. And mind you, the
venue that this was displayed at was not at their store.
It was at a different venue where they had this,
and then they hosted a fashion show, and the jury
(11:33):
saw this fashion show really as an ode.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
To the people.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So you could tell that this is this is coming
from the jurors and I sat with them as they
deliberated on why this was an important piece. But they said,
you know, we saw the we saw the models, and
they were not your typical models, and we could tell
that the clothes had been designed for them, and this
was a piece. This was an entry that created a
holistic vision, not just from the installation, but from the
(11:59):
choice of the models, the choice of the materials, and
the community that came out to support them on this.
And as they deliberated, they really recognized that this type
of experience and this type of exhibit and and creative
exhibition really represented what it means to be an artist.
(12:19):
It means bringing your community together. It means bringing your
people together and bringing your vision to bear in a
way that is acited, that is appreciated and recognized by
those that are around you. And I think that that
was that's really meaningful. This jury is. You know, a
couple of them were curators from here. We had a
(12:39):
curator from Indianapolis in we had a curator from Saint
Louis in UH and UH and a couple others. So
we had been in one for a curator in from Detroit,
and so we had people from around the country here
that really recognized the work that this group brought out.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
This is we're talking, by the way, with Katln Whittington,
Executive director of Art Prize. You can see the Art
Prize Jury Grand Prize winner, the Jury Grand Prize winner
of Scraps for twenty twenty five Art Prize at ArtPrize
dot org. ArtPrize dot Org. All of the winners are
there and some pretty great things. That's just a great
way to relive maybe some of the Art Prize works
(13:21):
that you saw and per have perhaps even voted for.
I wanted to ask you about that, Catlin. The QR codes,
the codes near the art. It's a very interactative, it's
a very participatory thing by design. Is that working the
way you and your team wanted it to? You envision
any changes for that for the future in twenty twenty
(13:41):
six and beyond.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
I don't see any changes in it for twenty twenty six,
it is working. We obviously want to see more engagement
and more participation. You know, when our prize started in
two thousand and nine, the text of vote was a
brand new thing. The way that people interacted with their
personal devices was a completely different world.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
It seems like it was.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Only fifteen years ago, but it was a completely different.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Thing and a very novel thing.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And I think now some of that novelty might have
worn off, But I think the participation and the engagement
is something that we are going to continue to hone
and create and lower the barrier of entry and the
barrier of participation. It is so easy to register and vote,
and we hope that out of the million people that
(14:28):
come here, we can capture as many of them participating
and engaging with the artists and casting votes to recognize
the works that that really stand out to them and
are impactful and meaningful to them.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Speaking of a million people here for our prize twenty
twenty five and people coming back to this great event,
let's talk about the impact on the city of Grand Rapids,
on the West Michigan region, Catlan. It is important, It's
significant from in terms of an economic impact.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I read like some fifty million. See that.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Well, in twenty twenty four, we brought in over seventy
one million dollars into local economy over the sixteen days. Yeah,
and so that's an impact for the service sector. That's
an impact for the hospitality sector, that's an impact for
the retail and small businesses around.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
And then there's a ripple effect.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
As it continues to create more and more jobs and
continues to keep these businesses vibrant active throughout the year.
A lot of the businesses downtown really look at this.
They see it as a thirteenth month of the year
in terms of their revenue, or a second Christmas even
and you know that means a lot to us. It's
a huge thing that that does. And I have long
(15:38):
been a proponent that if we continue to focus and
support the arts in these meaningful and engaging ways, those
benefits will continue to come.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Okay, this is the executive director's personal question of this conversation.
What is Catlan's was Catlan's favorite part of this year's
our price?
Speaker 2 (15:58):
If he had to pull it down to one. I know,
it's kind of like picking your favorite kid.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Is there something who really stood out as that was
way better than I thought it was going to be,
or I just really loved what that ended up being.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
We had a parade on opening night, and we didn't
know how many people were going to leave from Rosa
Park Circle and follow us across the bridge and over
to the Pearl Street Bridge. So we wound through downtown,
across the Blue Street Bridge and back up to the
Pearl Street Bridge, and I was leading it with the
brass band. I had a megaphone. I had some colleagues
(16:32):
there from UH and some some some peers there from
the Ballet and some others. And I remember looking over
at some of my peers from the art world and
they were like, what are you doing? Like why are
you having fun that you're supposed to be in the arts,
you know? But but looking back and just looking at
the crowded and and I jested, I say that in jest,
(16:53):
because you know, here, here we are with six thousand
people walking through the streets just having a good time,
and people that didn't even know what was going on,
just seeing the crowd and the activity and jumping in line.
And then it culminated with an amazing fireworks show. And
I love fireworks. Yeah, but that you know that personally
was a fun thing. I like to have fun in
(17:14):
those types of ways. But really we transform people's lives
not just through the grants and the awards, but also
through the participation in art and hearing feedback from somebody
who might not have gone to a museum in a
while or maybe ever, or really doesn't have art as
part of their daily life and saying I have not
(17:38):
had this type of emotional response to something of this
nage to art before and thank you right, And to me,
that is those little moments. We had a million people,
but it's those little individual moments, and if I can
see the change in just one kid or one artist
(17:58):
validated in their work, or one human that really is
moved by the experience as a whole, that's validation for me.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Catlin Whittington is executive director of Art Prize. We are
kind of unpacking the twenty twenty five Our Prize event.
Our Prize twenty twenty six is already on the calendar
for September seventeenth through October third. You can check Ourprize
dot org as more comes in. We are here in
early twenty twenty six and it won't be long before
(18:28):
you will be opening this up to entries looking for
hosts for the artwork. Give us a preview of one
that will all drop at ArtPrize dot org.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
We're going to be starting to do an intentional outreach
and probably our grants in late January early February will
be the start of some of our grant applications rolling
in heavy in March April with venue registration and then
into our artist registration in Q two. All that leads
and culminates up into our connections process. And this is
(19:02):
the interesting point that is a lot different than other
arts exhibitions. This is where the artists and the venues
kind of self curate. We think of it kind of
like a dating app for artists and venues and they
get to self select between them and it's a really
it's an interesting process. You know, this last year we
had eleven hundred artists participating, and so you can imagine
that this process of selection takes some time, and it's
(19:25):
also a really it's actually a really fun time in
the off season while we're working.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Now. The grants are a really important.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Part of what we do. It really allows artists from
around the country allow around the world and right here
at home, to realize their ambitious vision and to bring
it to bay Or at art price. It is not
a cheap endeavor for artists to participate, and this really
helps to lower that barrier of entry and or helps
these artists realize a really unique concept and vision.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Probably one of the biggest misconceptions about our prize Catland
is that you guys are just money is flying out.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
You've you're loaded, and these.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Grants just fall from the sky like easypasy, no problem whatsoever.
But the reality is Art Prize needs supporters. You need
people who believe in the importance. Getting back to that
term we talked about earlier, the democratization of art and
why it's important that this event is sustained for a
long time, and so I wanted to talk about the
(20:29):
donation part of this.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It keeps this a free event, and that's.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Really important to point out. I was looking at my
notes for this conversation today. I sat and looked at
them and was say, yeah, this thing is free. There
are very few things that cost any money.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
To look at the art.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
If you've got a smartphone, you can vote and you
can participate. It is really something special but that happens
because of all kinds of donations. Six hundred thousand ingrants
to artists, is that right?
Speaker 4 (20:59):
We gave about give about two hundred thousand a year
and grants and then about four hundred thousand a year
and awards. That's been the last three years and under
this new public private partnership model. I think it's really
important to underscore that this takes the community at large
to support it. Right. The benefits that come with this,
the not just the economic impact, but the cultural impact,
(21:19):
the social impact, the community impact that this has of
really creating a vibrant, rich and engaging urban environment, but
also arts experience of what it is. It takes investment
at all levels. So in twenty twenty five, all individual
donations go to directly to artists. One hundred percent of
(21:41):
individual donations go directly to artists, and we're rolling that
into twenty twenty six as well. So your donation supports
either arts, the artists themselves through grants or awards, or
our arts education program. So we look to the community
to help support and underwrite and keep this amazing thing
going into its sixteenth year and beyond. It's a very
(22:03):
important part of our community, and we welcome the community
to participate and support the artists themselves, because that's what.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
We do this for.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
I want to go back to an important thing you
just said about donations to our prize. You can donate
at ArtPrize dot org. There is a very obvious donate button,
and again, if you'd like to support this great event
ArtPrize dot org and just hit the donate button. Thousands
of students across West Michigan and probably beyond are able
(22:33):
to experience our prize because of those supports. You know,
if you look back over the last twenty years, the
arts have been gutted in a lot of public schools,
truly unfortunately, it's really a sad thing. I'm a band
nerd from high school one hundred and five years ago,
and you know, music arts have been gutted, orchestra band,
(22:54):
but visual arts art class is something that is not
necessarily a given, and being able to expose students to
this kind of annual event is significant. That is a
really important part of kind of seeding the future for artists.
Maybe five ten years down the road, right, well.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
We've seen it already.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
We are a generational event now at fifteen years, and
so we have seen students that have come through. I
was talking to somebody during the event and they said,
you know, I came down to Art Prize last time,
probably when I was in middle school, and it's really
excited to be back as an adult. But no, we
had over three thousand students that came out on field
trips and those students came from around the state actually,
(23:39):
so we definitely prioritize West Michigan region here specifically GRPs
kent Wood, Wyoming, but it's open to any school district
that wants to apply and we try to find time
and space for them. We also provide self guided itineraries
for teachers that want to conduct their own field trips.
(24:00):
But more so than that, we also create curriculum. So
we create we create magazines that take art principles, art
art theory principles and they use Art Prize artists in
their work as exemplaries of this theory, and so we
create these magazines. We distributed eleven two hundred magazines into
(24:20):
public schools this year to be used in the classroom
year round. So this is a way that we can
continue that impact so the students can they can come
experience it firsthand, and they can take it back in
the classroom and they can they can use that and
they can re engage not just with art prize, but
with those artists and with that artwork and with their
teachers throughout the year. Very important thing.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
I don't want to run out of Italian Catlin, but
I want to talk a little bit about I hate
to use the trend making the sausage, but I want
to go back to the grants. Sure, if I am
an artist and I'm a wilder and i want to
make something that I don't necessarily have enough money to create,
but I've got a vision for I apply for a
grant through our Price.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
It just walk us through that process briefly. Sure if
you will.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Well, we have several different types of grants and levels
of grants, so everything from artists seed grants, which are
between two and three thousand dollars that are basically that
stopgap to really help the artists and bring themselves in
their work to our Price and or to create something,
then all the way up to our featured public projects.
(25:27):
These are large scale outdoor installations that take a lot
of time, a lot of effort, a lot of energery.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
So if you're a welder and you've.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Got this concept in this vision, as we launch those
there's going to be a whole set of criteria. Obviously,
we want to make sure that the artists are going
to be able to bring their work to bear and
finish up and complete what they are proposing. But by
and large, there is going to be a grant that's
going to fit in with that. They are not genre specific,
(25:54):
they are not medium specific. They are largely open to
any artists that has a vision that we think and
granted we are not the sole deciders on these grants.
We bring in peers from our community to help us
in our grant selection process, and so we look at
(26:16):
the work and we say, is this something that's going
to work at our prize? Is this something that the
artist is going to be able to accomplish? And is
this something that is important and meaningful? And you know,
and if those three things really stand out to us
and to the deciding board, decision making board, then we
are happy to help support that vision and bring that
(26:37):
work to bear.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
And I imagine even a two or three thousand dollars
grant just in getting materials supplies, that's a huge impact
and positive push to these artists and getting in the
creative mode. I've got a couple of minutes left. I
want to did I.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Share one thing just on that point, I'd like to
point out there was a work named Peru. It was
our jury three D winner by Cameron's Cameron Stallheim, and
he was a grant winner and drove this sculpture, the
beautiful bronze, all the way from South Dakota here and
he installed it at Sixth Street Park. Uh. He donated
(27:15):
it to the city after winning. And it's a it's
a great piece and now it will become a part
of our city's permanent collection. Uh. The venue has not
been decided yet of where it goes. But uh, yeah,
just an amazing piece and really testament to the the
what these grants can can help achieve.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
And he drove it from South Dakota.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
He did.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Yeah, that is dedication indeed, and that was.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
A three D juried vote winner. Ca Uh Cameron Stallheim
was persist.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
You can learn more at ArtPrize dot org. Is there
anything I didn't ask you? Just wanted to share with
our listeners, Gatlin, Our prize.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Is a really important thing as part of our community
and we are grateful, eternally grateful to continue to get
to do this and to have fun. And at the
end of the day, if it's not fun, why are
we doing it.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Indeed, by the way, right at the top of the
Art Prize page, it says champion creativity support artists. Donate
to our prize today. That's the link we're talking about.
And if we pique your curiosity, make sure you check
out the twenty twenty five winners. If you are an
inspiring artists, you heard kaplan the challenges there, get creating
(28:26):
in twenty twenty six And as always, thank you for
doing what you do for our community, for art and
for generations to come. Katln Whittington, Executive director of Art Prize.
We covered a lot of ground in just a few minutes.
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
Thank you Phil again.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You can learn more at ArtPrize dot org. Remember the
dates for twenty twenty six, September seventeenth through October third,
you want to put those on your calendar. That is
plenty of time to see well close to one thousand
art installations all over the city and it will be
worth your time. That is our program for this week.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
The whole program you can catch as.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
A podcast wherever you get your favorite podcast, and we'll
do this again next week. Right here on this iHeartRadio station.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly programmed designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
And welcome in happy new year.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
It is West Michigan Weekend, and it's always an honor
and pleasure to have you join us. Across whatever iHeartRadio
station you may be listening to. I am your host,
Phil Tower. In just a moment, Catlin Whittington, the executive
director for Art Prize, unpacks Art Prize twenty twenty five.
There was a lot that happened, a lot to talk about,
including the public vote grand Prize winner and the juried
(00:43):
Grand prize winner which has quite a story. A juried
winner named Scraps. You're going to want to hear that
story and my full conversation with Katln Whittington, executive director
of Art Prize. That's just around the corner. Don't forget
every episode of this program available wherever you get your
favorite podcast. Just search West Michigan Weekend. Our most downloaded
(01:06):
episodes of the year include Embracing What Matters Most in
the fourth Quarter of Your Life with doctor Allen Hunt
that came in at number three from April of this year.
How Down to Defend educates and equips people with developmental
and intellectual disabilities from May of this year, and our
most downloaded podcast from twenty twenty five for West Michigan Weekend,
(01:29):
a segment we did in August with Kevin Matthews Radio
Legend to Broken Mary's Roady. You can hear that episode
and all of our previous episodes from twenty twenty five
and beyond wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. You
can also go to Woodradio dot com left hand side
of the page. Stick around our full conversation with Ourt
(01:51):
Prize Executive director Catlin Whittington just fifteen seconds away here
on this iHeartRadio station. May can I.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Sit in the front seat just this one time?
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Please? Please? Please?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
No, not yet?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
But why because I love you and you're just not
ready yet.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Now get in the back so I can get you
in your car seat.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
Please. Putting your kids in the right seat for their
age in size is an act of love. Check that
your kids are in the right seat at NITZA dot
gov slash the right seat. I Love protects a message
from NITSA and the ad.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Council, and thank you so much for tuning in here
to West Michigan Weekend again. I'm Phil Tower. I am
in studio. It's actually going to be back in studio
with Katlen Whittington, executive director of Art Price. Now, normally
we do this conversation leading up to our Price. Well,
Catlyn and I got busy this year and we didn't
do that pre Art Prize conversation. So Catal and I
(02:50):
standing outside of a dunk tank and that's another story.
We decided we need to do a recap of our
Prize twenty twenty five, which was September eighteenth through October fourth.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Glad to have you back in the studio.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Glad to be here, Phil, and we'll tell that dunk
tank story on another episode of West Michigan Weekend. A
lot too unpack here to reflect on Art Prize twenty
twenty five. We are recording this conversation at the end
of December, and you've had several weeks now to look
back on this. First and foremost, the grand prize winner,
(03:23):
at least the public voting grand prize winner, we want
to mention was Mark Lewansky's how do you say that?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Is it rs r us?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yes, so the public vote Grand Prize, which got a
lot of buzz, a lot of media coverage, and that
was a really unique story. And the twenty twenty five
Art Prized Juried Grand Prize winner was Scraps, an installation
created by the artistic duo of Camille Stevenson and Caitlin Fitzpatrick.
(03:50):
They have a shop in downtown gr called Second Vibes.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Right, Yeah, really cool little vintage shop overrun South Division.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
And this is a great story, Katlan, and we'll talk
about that in just a moment. These guys had never
done anything for our prize, and they put together something
really special. It was created from cast off fabrics and
found fabrics, and they basically created a pretty powerful and
evocative art commentary on sustainability, memory and shared our identity,
(04:20):
and the jury to artists of six juried artists loved
it at first price one hundred thousand dollars in both categories.
First of all, are you finally breathing normally after you know,
we're several weeks removed?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Yeah, Yeah, it's exciting to get back on the other side. Obviously,
we're working really hard towards twenty twenty six already, but
it's great to get out on the other side and
really to think back and look back on the good
work and the impact that we had over.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
This last year.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I didn't really think about all the successes we had
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
How many years will twenty twenty six be for our price.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
That'll be the sixteenth installation of Art Prize, a sixteenth
annual event, and it'll mark my fourth year in leadership
and under this new public private partnership model.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
And just a real quick sidebar to that planning. This
is not like the Major League Baseball season, where after
you win the World Series to take a month off,
you get a short respue, respite and then you're back.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Into it, right, Yeah, short resp But if we're lucky.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
The reality is is that we're constantly planning out a
year and ahead, years in ahead, and thinking about what
we're going to do in the coming years and the
coming seasons, and really continuing to try to evolve and
bring the new and exciting to Art Prize each and
every year. And that's everything from the events that we produce,
(05:42):
the artists, the outreach, the community partners that we engage in.
We keep having the conversations and that's a big part
of what Art Prize does is bring these dynamic conversations
to bear.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
You and I had this conversation ahead of your first
Art Prize and now you've got four years you kind
of look behind you.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Are you where you'd hope to be at this point?
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I am. I've seen we have seen as a community
a resurgence and Art Prize and a reinvigoration of what
it can mean when it's done intentionally and with a
lot of effort to make it all that it can
be for, not just for the artists, for the venues,
for the community as a whole. We saw almost a
million people come in for our prize and visit Art
(06:25):
Prize this year, which is an amazing feat and those
numbers are a huge growth over previous years. And we
continue to see the relevance of what we do, in
the impact of what we do.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I was talking to an art critic and writer out
of New York, Carlos McCormick a while back, Carlo McCormick
a while back, and Carlo I had met him in
Miami after twenty twenty three. So this is December twenty
twenty three and I was about to board the plane
back to Grand Rapids and I got an email from
Carlo and he said, I want you to just remember
(06:59):
how how important this work you are doing in democratizing art,
democratizing art is and what it means for the art
world at broadly. And we continue to look back on this,
and this really underscores the reason in the mission why
we do this. This is not a two dimensional arts exhibit.
This is a very engaging opportunity to bring this culmination
(07:23):
of experience, exhibition and education, arts education all together under
glorious seventeen days in downtown Grand Rapids, which is an
amazing feat to have this kind of decentralized exhibition and
experience happen.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
A couple of things I want to go back to
you there. First of all, I'm a big believer in
praise and I love that. It's not very often to
hear a guy like that calling you, the executive director
of our prize, saying you need to celebrate what you
just did.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
That had to be really encouraging quite a bit.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Yes, it really was. And it was after my first
year and really thinking back on it. It meant a lot,
especially leaving the pomp and circumstance that is our basel
in Miami and hearing it from him after meeting him there,
and he said, all of this stuff you just saw
is the art world, and what you're doing is the
antithesis of that, and it's an important thing, and that
means a lot.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
The other thing I want to come back to in
that story, which is a great story Catlin Whittington, is
the democratization of art. I don't think people stop and
understand the significance of that.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So for the everyday Joe.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Sixpack guy who's maybe listening to this, who looks at
art and maybe it's the Dog's shooting pool in three
D or something great piece. But seriously, it's important because
it's bringing art to the people. I mean, that was
the whole concept in the beginning, but it's more than that.
Can you help us unpack what that term means to
you and your team and art prize?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Well, it's a bit twofold.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
I like to think of the traditional arts experience as
being a very two dimensional, a very true dimensional level
of engagement. Right, you go to a museum, the museum is.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Curated to work.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Could I say this is the good work that you
should come and see. My wife gets mad at me
when I talk loud enough for the docents to hear,
And I said, this is a gallery, this is a museum.
It's not a library. You know, We're allowed to have opinions.
And I think that's the beauty of art prize is
not only is the curation often decentralized between the venues
and the artists themselves. We celebrate living artists. We ask
(09:24):
the artists to come and participate. These aren't galleries, these
aren't curators, these are artists themselves. These are venues. But
then the experience of how these million people, which is
a huge number for any kind of arts institution, how
does million people actually engage with that on a day
to day level through the act of voting and selecting
(09:45):
the winners, but also through the act of communicating, engaging
with the artists that are here and they're present. And
I think that this creates a different experience. We're all
involved in what art can mean and how we can
embrace art in our lives as a living, breathing, and
frankly multi dimensional experience, which is not one that you
(10:06):
normally get in a traditional arts institution, and I think
that is really what sets Art Prize apart and makes
it a very special and unique thing.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
And what I love what you just did there was
throw me a softball to go back to Camille Stevenson
and Caitlin Fitzpatrick, because that's exactly what happened there. These
were two people who have never done anything like that,
but people who were really proud of their second hand
store second excuse me, second hand store, which is called
(10:38):
Second Vibes, and they decided to put together in our
prize entry that was so powerful it won the Art
Prize jurid Grand Prize of one hundred thousand dollars, which
again these are people that had never done.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Artah for It's pretty amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
A couple young creatives. They've been a venue the last
few years and obviously we love all of our venues
down in the hard Side Business Association in the Business
district down there, and Second Vibes is a cornerstone business
down there.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
But they put together not just.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
An upcycled fashion line from that they had created themselves,
but they created a whole installation around it with upcycled
materials and really created a space. And mind you, the
venue that this was displayed at was not at their store.
It was at a different venue where they had this,
and then they hosted a fashion show, and the jury
(11:33):
saw this fashion show really as an ode.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
To the people.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So you could tell that this is this is coming
from the jurors and I sat with them as they
deliberated on why this was an important piece. But they said,
you know, we saw the we saw the models, and
they were not your typical models, and we could tell
that the clothes had been designed for them, and this
was a piece. This was an entry that created a
holistic vision, not just from the installation, but from the
(11:59):
choice of the models, the choice of the materials, and
the community that came out to support them on this.
And as they deliberated, they really recognized that this type
of experience and this type of exhibit and and creative
exhibition really represented what it means to be an artist.
(12:19):
It means bringing your community together. It means bringing your
people together and bringing your vision to bear in a
way that is acited, that is appreciated and recognized by
those that are around you. And I think that that
was that's really meaningful. This jury is. You know, a
couple of them were curators from here. We had a
(12:39):
curator from Indianapolis in we had a curator from Saint
Louis in UH and UH and a couple others. So
we had been in one for a curator in from Detroit,
and so we had people from around the country here
that really recognized the work that this group brought out.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
This is we're talking, by the way, with Katln Whittington,
Executive director of Art Prize. You can see the Art
Prize Jury Grand Prize winner, the Jury Grand Prize winner
of Scraps for twenty twenty five Art Prize at ArtPrize
dot org. ArtPrize dot Org. All of the winners are
there and some pretty great things. That's just a great
way to relive maybe some of the Art Prize works
(13:21):
that you saw and per have perhaps even voted for.
I wanted to ask you about that, Catlin. The QR codes,
the codes near the art. It's a very interactative, it's
a very participatory thing by design. Is that working the
way you and your team wanted it to? You envision
any changes for that for the future in twenty twenty
(13:41):
six and beyond.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
I don't see any changes in it for twenty twenty six,
it is working. We obviously want to see more engagement
and more participation. You know, when our prize started in
two thousand and nine, the text of vote was a
brand new thing. The way that people interacted with their
personal devices was a completely different world.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
It seems like it was.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Only fifteen years ago, but it was a completely different.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Thing and a very novel thing.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And I think now some of that novelty might have
worn off, But I think the participation and the engagement
is something that we are going to continue to hone
and create and lower the barrier of entry and the
barrier of participation. It is so easy to register and vote,
and we hope that out of the million people that
(14:28):
come here, we can capture as many of them participating
and engaging with the artists and casting votes to recognize
the works that that really stand out to them and
are impactful and meaningful to them.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Speaking of a million people here for our prize twenty
twenty five and people coming back to this great event,
let's talk about the impact on the city of Grand Rapids,
on the West Michigan region, Catlan. It is important, It's
significant from in terms of an economic impact.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I read like some fifty million. See that.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Well, in twenty twenty four, we brought in over seventy
one million dollars into local economy over the sixteen days. Yeah,
and so that's an impact for the service sector. That's
an impact for the hospitality sector, that's an impact for
the retail and small businesses around.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
And then there's a ripple effect.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
As it continues to create more and more jobs and
continues to keep these businesses vibrant active throughout the year.
A lot of the businesses downtown really look at this.
They see it as a thirteenth month of the year
in terms of their revenue, or a second Christmas even
and you know that means a lot to us. It's
a huge thing that that does. And I have long
(15:38):
been a proponent that if we continue to focus and
support the arts in these meaningful and engaging ways, those
benefits will continue to come.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Okay, this is the executive director's personal question of this conversation.
What is Catlan's was Catlan's favorite part of this year's
our price?
Speaker 2 (15:58):
If he had to pull it down to one. I know,
it's kind of like picking your favorite kid.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Is there something who really stood out as that was
way better than I thought it was going to be,
or I just really loved what that ended up being.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
We had a parade on opening night, and we didn't
know how many people were going to leave from Rosa
Park Circle and follow us across the bridge and over
to the Pearl Street Bridge. So we wound through downtown,
across the Blue Street Bridge and back up to the
Pearl Street Bridge, and I was leading it with the
brass band. I had a megaphone. I had some colleagues
(16:32):
there from UH and some some some peers there from
the Ballet and some others. And I remember looking over
at some of my peers from the art world and
they were like, what are you doing? Like why are
you having fun that you're supposed to be in the arts,
you know? But but looking back and just looking at
the crowded and and I jested, I say that in jest,
(16:53):
because you know, here, here we are with six thousand
people walking through the streets just having a good time,
and people that didn't even know what was going on,
just seeing the crowd and the activity and jumping in line.
And then it culminated with an amazing fireworks show. And
I love fireworks. Yeah, but that you know that personally
was a fun thing. I like to have fun in
(17:14):
those types of ways. But really we transform people's lives
not just through the grants and the awards, but also
through the participation in art and hearing feedback from somebody
who might not have gone to a museum in a
while or maybe ever, or really doesn't have art as
part of their daily life and saying I have not
(17:38):
had this type of emotional response to something of this
nage to art before and thank you right, And to me,
that is those little moments. We had a million people,
but it's those little individual moments, and if I can
see the change in just one kid or one artist
(17:58):
validated in their work, or one human that really is
moved by the experience as a whole, that's validation for me.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Catlin Whittington is executive director of Art Prize. We are
kind of unpacking the twenty twenty five Our Prize event.
Our Prize twenty twenty six is already on the calendar
for September seventeenth through October third. You can check Ourprize
dot org as more comes in. We are here in
early twenty twenty six and it won't be long before
(18:28):
you will be opening this up to entries looking for
hosts for the artwork. Give us a preview of one
that will all drop at ArtPrize dot org.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
We're going to be starting to do an intentional outreach
and probably our grants in late January early February will
be the start of some of our grant applications rolling
in heavy in March April with venue registration and then
into our artist registration in Q two. All that leads
and culminates up into our connections process. And this is
(19:02):
the interesting point that is a lot different than other
arts exhibitions. This is where the artists and the venues
kind of self curate. We think of it kind of
like a dating app for artists and venues and they
get to self select between them and it's a really
it's an interesting process. You know, this last year we
had eleven hundred artists participating, and so you can imagine
that this process of selection takes some time, and it's
(19:25):
also a really it's actually a really fun time in
the off season while we're working.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Now. The grants are a really important.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Part of what we do. It really allows artists from
around the country allow around the world and right here
at home, to realize their ambitious vision and to bring
it to bay Or at art price. It is not
a cheap endeavor for artists to participate, and this really
helps to lower that barrier of entry and or helps
these artists realize a really unique concept and vision.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Probably one of the biggest misconceptions about our prize Catland
is that you guys are just money is flying out.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
You've you're loaded, and these.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Grants just fall from the sky like easypasy, no problem whatsoever.
But the reality is Art Prize needs supporters. You need
people who believe in the importance. Getting back to that
term we talked about earlier, the democratization of art and
why it's important that this event is sustained for a
long time, and so I wanted to talk about the
(20:29):
donation part of this.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It keeps this a free event, and that's.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Really important to point out. I was looking at my
notes for this conversation today. I sat and looked at
them and was say, yeah, this thing is free. There
are very few things that cost any money.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
To look at the art.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
If you've got a smartphone, you can vote and you
can participate. It is really something special but that happens
because of all kinds of donations. Six hundred thousand ingrants
to artists, is that right?
Speaker 4 (20:59):
We gave about give about two hundred thousand a year
and grants and then about four hundred thousand a year
and awards. That's been the last three years and under
this new public private partnership model. I think it's really
important to underscore that this takes the community at large
to support it. Right. The benefits that come with this,
the not just the economic impact, but the cultural impact,
(21:19):
the social impact, the community impact that this has of
really creating a vibrant, rich and engaging urban environment, but
also arts experience of what it is. It takes investment
at all levels. So in twenty twenty five, all individual
donations go to directly to artists. One hundred percent of
(21:41):
individual donations go directly to artists, and we're rolling that
into twenty twenty six as well. So your donation supports
either arts, the artists themselves through grants or awards, or
our arts education program. So we look to the community
to help support and underwrite and keep this amazing thing
going into its sixteenth year and beyond. It's a very
(22:03):
important part of our community, and we welcome the community
to participate and support the artists themselves, because that's what.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
We do this for.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
I want to go back to an important thing you
just said about donations to our prize. You can donate
at ArtPrize dot org. There is a very obvious donate button,
and again, if you'd like to support this great event
ArtPrize dot org and just hit the donate button. Thousands
of students across West Michigan and probably beyond are able
(22:33):
to experience our prize because of those supports. You know,
if you look back over the last twenty years, the
arts have been gutted in a lot of public schools,
truly unfortunately, it's really a sad thing. I'm a band
nerd from high school one hundred and five years ago,
and you know, music arts have been gutted, orchestra band,
(22:54):
but visual arts art class is something that is not
necessarily a given, and being able to expose students to
this kind of annual event is significant. That is a
really important part of kind of seeding the future for artists.
Maybe five ten years down the road, right, well.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
We've seen it already.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
We are a generational event now at fifteen years, and
so we have seen students that have come through. I
was talking to somebody during the event and they said,
you know, I came down to Art Prize last time,
probably when I was in middle school, and it's really
excited to be back as an adult. But no, we
had over three thousand students that came out on field
trips and those students came from around the state actually,
(23:39):
so we definitely prioritize West Michigan region here specifically GRPs
kent Wood, Wyoming, but it's open to any school district
that wants to apply and we try to find time
and space for them. We also provide self guided itineraries
for teachers that want to conduct their own field trips.
(24:00):
But more so than that, we also create curriculum. So
we create we create magazines that take art principles, art
art theory principles and they use Art Prize artists in
their work as exemplaries of this theory, and so we
create these magazines. We distributed eleven two hundred magazines into
(24:20):
public schools this year to be used in the classroom
year round. So this is a way that we can
continue that impact so the students can they can come
experience it firsthand, and they can take it back in
the classroom and they can they can use that and
they can re engage not just with art prize, but
with those artists and with that artwork and with their
teachers throughout the year. Very important thing.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
I don't want to run out of Italian Catlin, but
I want to talk a little bit about I hate
to use the trend making the sausage, but I want
to go back to the grants. Sure, if I am
an artist and I'm a wilder and i want to
make something that I don't necessarily have enough money to create,
but I've got a vision for I apply for a
grant through our Price.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
It just walk us through that process briefly. Sure if
you will.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Well, we have several different types of grants and levels
of grants, so everything from artists seed grants, which are
between two and three thousand dollars that are basically that
stopgap to really help the artists and bring themselves in
their work to our Price and or to create something,
then all the way up to our featured public projects.
(25:27):
These are large scale outdoor installations that take a lot
of time, a lot of effort, a lot of energery.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
So if you're a welder and you've.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Got this concept in this vision, as we launch those
there's going to be a whole set of criteria. Obviously,
we want to make sure that the artists are going
to be able to bring their work to bear and
finish up and complete what they are proposing. But by
and large, there is going to be a grant that's
going to fit in with that. They are not genre specific,
(25:54):
they are not medium specific. They are largely open to
any artists that has a vision that we think and
granted we are not the sole deciders on these grants.
We bring in peers from our community to help us
in our grant selection process, and so we look at
(26:16):
the work and we say, is this something that's going
to work at our prize? Is this something that the
artist is going to be able to accomplish? And is
this something that is important and meaningful? And you know,
and if those three things really stand out to us
and to the deciding board, decision making board, then we
are happy to help support that vision and bring that
(26:37):
work to bear.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
And I imagine even a two or three thousand dollars
grant just in getting materials supplies, that's a huge impact
and positive push to these artists and getting in the
creative mode. I've got a couple of minutes left. I
want to did I.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Share one thing just on that point, I'd like to
point out there was a work named Peru. It was
our jury three D winner by Cameron's Cameron Stallheim, and
he was a grant winner and drove this sculpture, the
beautiful bronze, all the way from South Dakota here and
he installed it at Sixth Street Park. Uh. He donated
(27:15):
it to the city after winning. And it's a it's
a great piece and now it will become a part
of our city's permanent collection. Uh. The venue has not
been decided yet of where it goes. But uh, yeah,
just an amazing piece and really testament to the the
what these grants can can help achieve.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
And he drove it from South Dakota.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
He did.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Yeah, that is dedication indeed, and that was.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
A three D juried vote winner. Ca Uh Cameron Stallheim
was persist.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
You can learn more at ArtPrize dot org. Is there
anything I didn't ask you? Just wanted to share with
our listeners, Gatlin, Our prize.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Is a really important thing as part of our community
and we are grateful, eternally grateful to continue to get
to do this and to have fun. And at the
end of the day, if it's not fun, why are
we doing it.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Indeed, by the way, right at the top of the
Art Prize page, it says champion creativity support artists. Donate
to our prize today. That's the link we're talking about.
And if we pique your curiosity, make sure you check
out the twenty twenty five winners. If you are an
inspiring artists, you heard kaplan the challenges there, get creating
(28:26):
in twenty twenty six And as always, thank you for
doing what you do for our community, for art and
for generations to come. Katln Whittington, Executive director of Art Prize.
We covered a lot of ground in just a few minutes.
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
Thank you Phil again.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You can learn more at ArtPrize dot org. Remember the
dates for twenty twenty six, September seventeenth through October third,
you want to put those on your calendar. That is
plenty of time to see well close to one thousand
art installations all over the city and it will be
worth your time. That is our program for this week.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
The whole program you can catch as.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
A podcast wherever you get your favorite podcast, and we'll
do this again next week. Right here on this iHeartRadio station.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio
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