The
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts has existed in Grand Rapids since 1977 as an innovative space for art, film, performing arts, events and art education. They've left the 28,000 sq. foot space on Sheldon Blvd. and are on the precipice of opening the doors of their new 40,000 sq. foot home on the corner of Fulton St. and Division Ave. within
The Gallery on Fulton. Their space is spread out over six floors, but that number only applies to the space occupied by the UICA. Parking, residential apartments and retail spaces have also been carved out, making the structure a promising, mixed-use facility where there used to be nothing.
"The Gallery on Fulton project occupies an important site at a prime corner in the heart of the city," Jay Fowler, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority says. "For over 50 years, this site was used for the singular purpose of storing cars (as a parking garage). When the garage was removed, we made a strategic decision not to replace it with another garage, but to make the property available for mixed-use development. The completed UICA facility will be an anchor, extending development from the traditional core of downtown to the developing Avenue for the Arts area. There is great synergy here: more people will use and enjoy the UICA than ever before, and the surrounding area will be revitalized by their presence."
Walking through the space this week, there is still construction going on and dust covers the floor. Artist Mindy Bray (of Denver, CO) stands on scaffolding, working on a large-scale mural installation. A 200-seat film theatre, with repurposed seats from the old Studio 28, surround sound, new digital projection equipment and the ability to run both 35mm and digital, waits to be used. New technology like an infrared microphone system and an audio-guided cell phone tour system allows for interactive educational tours. A digital archive features artist interviews, though oftentimes artists can be found live within the building.
An irrigated green screen looks over Division. Climbing vines will fill in the trellis over time.
"It took us nearly a year to agree to move," UICA Executive Director Jeff Meeuwsen says. "We were invited to move; we weren't looking at the time."
The city knew it wanted residential, parking and mixed use for the project, contemplating some unknown entertainment option as the building's anchor. Developers Sam Cummings of CWD Real Estate and Locus Development's John Green had the idea that that UICA would be a good fit. Unique in that the UICA has both day and evening programming with a diverse patron base, UICA also features a nationally-recognized arts education program, ArtWorks, with education programming offered for students as young as 5 years old.
"College students and post-college is a huge market (for us), continuing right through to a lot of empty nesters who are increasingly moving downtown," Meeuwsen says. "This offers a great alternative place for them to go."
Meeuwsen says that other arts organizations who have gone through a similar transition have seen their attendance and membership increase five-fold after a move like this.
"And it's sustainable," he adds.
Last year, UICA serviced 160,000 people. The possibilities seem limitless. As the UICA seeks to integrate itself in their new capacity in the community, Meeuwsen hopes to work with and encourage traffic to area merchants, mentioning in particular the retail within the Avenue for the Arts along S. Divison Ave. And when people come to be entertained and shop downtown, they usually end up eating and drinking downtown too.
By federal standards, the UICA is a museum. "But we're very much a community artspace," Meeuwsen says. "We're very grassroots in some ways, very professional in other ways. We combine all artforms -- visual arts, performance, film, music, things that are experimental that you just can't find anywhere else. We have a regional, national and international draw. We can receive over 1000 proposals from all over the world for the different programming that we do."
Combine that with the educational classrooms and studio programs and you've got something truly valuable and interactive. The UICA isn't building a collection, but rather constantly changing.
"We're not building a permanent collection of artwork," Meeuwsen says. "It's important, but immediately makes you historical. We're always looking for what's new, what's innovative. What are creative people doing? A completely open-ended opportunity."
The curatorial board of the UICA is an all-volunteer group of 18 professionals. They put out an international call for artists, using a database of thousands of artists all over the world, and review submissions individually then make decisions as a group. They do thematic shows and special calls and use the same process for ArtPrize. This year, as an exhibition and institutional partner of ArtPrize, they will feature 29 artists, some of them groups.
UICA opens Phase 1 on Monday with a ticketed event called the
Odd Ball. Phase 2, a project they are still funding for, includes a black box theatre and outdoor terrace on the upper two floors. They have been approved at a city-level for a liquor license, and are currently waiting on the state.
"We think there's money out there for businesses, individual and foundations that support work by emerging and underrepresented artists," Meeuwsen says. "People who like to help creative people taking a big leap in their career."
Following the grand opening on Monday and a member preview on Tuesday, the UICA will be open to the public for free on Saturday, July 31 for
Community Day from 2-7 p.m.
J. Bennett Rylah is the Managing Editor of Rapid Growth Media.Photographs by
Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved
Jeffrey Meeuwsen, Executive Director of UICA was photographed on location at UICAGallery at Fulton - new home of UICA