Part of the fun of ArtPrize is not just the chance to see so much art all around downtown Grand Rapids, but the opportunity to,about halfway through the contest, have the community come to hear and celebrate those artworks that have made it in the public vote’s Top 20.
When we get to this point of the contest, round two voting becomes fierce, as these 20 works will now be competing to win your single vote and the much-coveted $200,000 ArtPrize Public Vote Grand Prize, which will be broadcast live on WZZM-13 later this week.
But this special gathering on Sunday is not just exciting because of the Top 20 ArtPrize announcement, but because we welcome Disco Brunch and its eclectic programming to the main stage as your afternoon entertainment.
Disco Brunch — not an actual brunch — will entertain the ArtPrize crowd at Rosa Parks Circle with a DJ-driven dance party immediately following the Top 20 announcement.
While Grand Rapids’s DJ culture has been making great strides over the years, the chance to hear guest headliner DJ Pontchartrain (Dustin Alexander) of Detroit live on stage locally after experiencing his electrifying set at Movement Electronic Music Festival’s Red Bull Music Academy stage last May is very exciting for our local audience.
Unlike many of the major brands of DJs that pack massive arenas around the world, Pontchartrain’s arrival here in Grand Rapids, and in such an intimate setting as this park, is sure to turn heads and get feet to moving to his eclectic sound.
"Electronic music has permeated our culture in ways never before thought possible; often embedded within an auto commercial or at a large scale sporting event, but certainly the art community has had a hand in embracing electronic music artists and the evolution of their sound,” says Todd Ernst co-founder of Disco Brunch with Mike Sayaw, “ArtPrize is known for providing the framework to incubate new ideas and concepts, which makes (Rosa Parks Circle) the perfect venue for Disco Brunch.”
Ernst’s belief is that Disco Brunch is not a literal name but an euphemism for dance, with the brunch representing the vast variety of musical offerings dance music is currently exploring in our world.
In addition to Pontchartrain, Disco Brunch’s Todd Ernst & Mike Sayaw will be spinning throughout the afternoon with local guest DJ Joe Moon of the Vinyl Fetish DJ Collective.
If you would like to hear a sample of Pontchartrain style, then waste no time loading up his just released remix of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” Other cuts and mixes of his past shows can be found on
his Sound Cloud site.
Admission: Free