Dana Friis-Hansen lives and breathes art. He wakes up above one museum and bikes to another each morning -- he lives in a gallery apartment above the new
UICA building and works as Director of the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
GRAM has experienced a boon in leadership recently. With Friis-Hansen’s artful experience and community-centered philosophy, GRAM continues to thrive after Director Celeste Adams accepted the presidency at the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in Chicago.
“Linking artists with other creative fields is my passion,” Friis-Hansen says.
Friis-Hansen took the position as Director in mid-July after a decade’s run with the Austin Museum of Art. He holds a positive view of not only Grand Rapids but the whole of Michigan, having already visited museums and destinations across the state as well as the natural grandeur of the Upper Peninsula and Sleeping Bear Dunes.
He organized a well-rounded trip for his circle of Austin friends to experience Grand Rapids, arriving in time to hear the top ten announced at Artprize. His guests met Rick DeVos, toured the city and received gift bags (map, shuttle pass and guidebook).
Friis- Hansen believes, “The cities that are going to thrive in the future are the ones that embrace creativity,” citing Richard Florida’s
Creative Class school of thought. He emphasizes the need to understand artists and cites and that everyone should be included in the dialog, even scientists and researchers who may be overlooked as creative minds.
“Even those in the medical profession; people who are doing research, are creative. It takes creativity to figure out how to cure cancer or to understand a disease," he says. "There are all these wonderful businesses here from the furniture industry to the apparel and shoe industry, and I want to get them involved in a dialog about creativity -- what does it mean to be an inventor? What does it mean to manufacture something in a new way?”
In fact, he imagined himself to be a scientist upon entering college, but soon switched paths and focused on the humanities. “I was very into how the world worked, and went off thinking I might be a neuroscientist or a biochemist.” He rather favors the interdisciplinary perspective advocated by the arts.
Aside from focusing on offering thought-provoking and ever-changing exhibits, Friis-Hansen is happily busy with three ‘big-picture’ objectives.
First, he envisions himself as a sound community convener, connecting the public to the arts. GRAM receives visitors and various groups and hosts numerous events, i.e.
Friday Night at the Gram. Some people are starting to get married at the museum. “It’s a place where people can celebrate different moments in their lives. We also collaborate with non-profit organizations like
United Way. So it’s not just for art, it’s fulfilling a civic purpose that is always connected to creativity and making the city a better place,” he says.
Second on Friis-Hansen’s long-term agenda is making the museum an incubator of creative content. “The staff here does so many amazing things (with information and images) that sometimes don’t get out beyond the walls of this museum and so what I want to do is make sure artists are being recognized and documented.”
GRAM effectually documented Artprize with an illustrative catalog providing information on participating artists. The museum resourcefully utilized technology by allowing attendees to flash their smartphone at various entries to load a one-minute video interview by that particular artist. Watch them
here.
Thirdly, he is passionate about learning and fervently advocates the movement,
21st Century Skills. Friis-Hansen notes that students today must grasp how to effectively utilize technology to succeed in our global economy. “I like to say that if you think about the most creative people in the world -- Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso -- people who changed the way we understand the world, then we can use art as a platform to teach people how to develop their creativity for the needs of the 21st century,” he says. GRAM is actively working with Grand Rapids Public Schools and Kendall College in this endeavor.
Friis-Hansen’s bailiwick extends beyond art to include building strong relationships, igniting progressive communication and highlighting the benefits of total inclusiveness for the greater good.
And he’s no greenhorn to new places, having lived all over.
He grew up in New England and attended Minnesota’s Carleton College before accepting an internship with the
Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Time passed and work ushered him to Houston, MIT in Boston, Tokyo, back to Houston, and then Austin before his 2011 move to the mitten.
And thus far, Friis-Hansen likes his Grand Rapids surroundings.
“I’m very impressed. I think it’s a great city with wonderful people, but I also think it’s an important moment of convergence in the arts and the cultural sphere, especially for downtown.” He cites the international attention GRAM has received, the blossoming of Artprize and UICA’s new location on top of the exciting projects and the international artists Frederick Meijer Gardens has recently enlisted.
“I love downtown. I ride my bike to work. I love shopping at the farmer’s market or going out to eat in Eastown and Wealthy Street. I love Tre Cugini, Leo’s and also Central Market and Schuler’s bookstore café, and Arena District has great places as well. Another thing that I would stress is that there is great public art around town; there is a legacy of that. I feel it’s a really accessible place and also really welcoming and there’s always something going. Even if it’s just people sitting outside eating [around Rosa Parks Circle], it just feels like a sophisticated city,” he adds.
The prime location of GRAM operates as a gateway for tying community to cultural and creative events -- a liaison between human beings and powerful artistic experiences.
“I feel it’s important that the museum is adjacent to Maya Lin’s
Ecliptic sculpture. Really, there is just so many things that go on in front of the museum that we can connect to -- and we do,” says Friis-Hansen.
In Austin, Friis-Hansen proudly established ‘The Family Lab,' a special room where individuals were invited to explore. Predicated upon the theory of self-directed learning, the lab allows individuals to discover at their own pace. “People could come in and have fun and learn about the art on view and create things to bring home. And we do that here, in a different way, at GRAM, with Saturday
All Day with the Arts.
Families can go through the museum and then go to our education center. People can participate in hands on learning: so this is a different name, and format, and location, but I think GRAM has a great education program and it continues to grow,” he says.
GRAM is surely entering a fecund period under the reigns of Friis-Hansen, a man teeming with ideas and purpose who sees the museum as both a destination and a gateway.
“This museum is a gift to the city, and I feel like I have a responsibility to do great things,” he says.
Lauren Folkes is a freelance reporter living on the lakeshore. She covers a wide variety of topics from the contract furniture industry to health, beauty and yoga. You’ll often find her with a book in hand. Follow on twitter @laurenfolkes