Like the homecoming queen who gets scads of invites to high school graduation parties, Luisa Schumacher stopped counting when she had received her 70th invitation for an
ArtPrize get-together and turned to the task at hand.
How could anyone attend this many parties over only 17 days? And which ones should she attend, trying not to disappoint?
"In this case, I did judge a book by its cover," says
Schumacher, executive director of the
West Michigan Center for Arts & Technology (WMCAT) in Grand Rapids. "I'm kind of a graphic design snob, so I made judgments on their invites: too much paper, too much info, not enough info. I tried to be fair as possible about the whole thing, but there are people who don't know how to market at all."
And Schumacher decided that she would attend one key party a night, where she could get the most bang for her buck in terms of artist interaction, number of pieces in one space, or viewing "funky installations" by artists with national or international reputations.
The result: Schumacher's guide to ArtPrize parties posted on her Facebook that has "something for most tastes, but ones that would be super fun." Her short list was the result of a lot of research, Schumacher says, and the fact that some artists' gatherings "just looked boring."
But come Friday night, the shoe will be on the other foot for Schumacher -- when WMCAT hosts its ArtPrize shindig.
"It's kind of like planning a birthday party for yourself, and you don't know if anyone's going to come," says Schumacher, 28. "It is a new adventure. It's totally Star Trek: To go where no one has gone before. We are all really excited -- and anxious at the same time."
Record Setting PartytimeNever in the history of West Michigan have there been more simultaneous parties and gatherings for the public to learn about art than with the launch of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids.
With a total purse of $449,000, the competition centered around downtown Grand Rapids running from Sept. 23 to Oct. 10 is billed as the world's largest cash prize for art. The public will vote to decide which artworks win the top $250,000 prize and nine other cash awards.
Part and parcel of the competition will be receptions and gatherings where the public can meet the artists. Some will be posh affairs for the launch of high-profile artwork such as the christening of the Loch Ness monster in the Grand River, while others will be coffee and punch affairs where a dozen individuals can view artworks and meet their creators in intimate settings.
But it's clear that there will be more public meet-and-greet gatherings for the artists during the next 17 days than possible for any one person to attend -- that is unless he or she lists party-going as an occupation.
Even for professional partygoer
Laura Caprara, the sheer number of gatherings for ArtPrize is beyond her resources.
"We have been invited to perhaps 35 parties," says Caprara, 41, founder of
Grand Rapids Social Diary , a popular website that chronicles who attends events throughout Grand Rapids. "We just can't go to all of them. We are going to be covering 12 parties this week, and each reception seems like it has a strong story."
There's an interesting corollary to the fact that no one person can attend all of the parties of ArtPrize.
Probably few people will engage in the grueling pace that it would take to view all of the ArtPrize entries during the competition -- which is a bit unnerving since the winner is determined by public vote.
A Lot of Ground to Cover
Consider the logistics: 1262 artists, 159 venues situated within a boundary that spans from Leonard to Wealthy, from College to Straight. That would equate to viewing on the average nine venues and 74 artworks every day during the competition.
Josh Depenbrok hopes to make the pilgrimage, but even he has his doubts about whether it's practical to try it. "It's almost an overwhelming number of things to see," says Depenbrok , 29, the founder of
GR Now , another well-accessed website that lists all of the events in the area.
GR Now's Guide to ArtPrize 2009 lists more than 35 receptions and demonstrations that are connected to the competition. But Depenbrok concedes that his listing covers only a fraction of the gatherings that will take place during the run of ArtPrize.
When asked how many events he anticipates, ArtPrize Director of Operations
Bill Holsinger-Robinson gave a rough estimate of "hundreds," which seems to be all anyone can estimate in anticipation of the experiment that is the world's largest prize for art.
Because the winner of ArtPrize will be determined by the number of positive votes, these parties are a crucial part of ArtPrize strategy – by enticing voters to the venue where an artist’s work is hosted, the artist is garnering a larger potential number of votes. Similarly, venues have the opportunity to attract an unprecedented amount of business and attention by hosting these events.
The casual party-attendee may only have to wander the streets of downtown to find more than enough going on, while the more particular ArtPrize visitor may want to pick up an event guide and use new media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to keep abreast of events or get a heads up about spontaneous events as they occur.
It's Free Form -- And Free
"Because of how ArtPrize is so loosely structured, there are things we're not fully aware of," Holsinger-Robinson says. But planned events are being kept track of on two widgets on the
ArtPrize website.
One widget lists all the ArtPrize-sponsored events and the other captures all the events focused on benefitting the artists or talking about or seeing art, Holsinger-Robinson says. "We will have artists' talks, panel discussions, tours, anything else that anyone wants to put up."
Simple to use and readily accessible to anyone with Internet access, these easily updated widgets will be useful to ArtPrize guests looking to schedule their time wisely or find events not directly connected to ArtPrize itself.
"We've been giving people permission to get really creative and do what they want to do," Holsinger-Robinson says. If someone wants to throw a party for artists, they don't need our approval, they just need to do it. We're encouraging everything from venues doing receptions for artists or artists' talks within their venues to a place like
The B.O.B. that has a crazy number of artists hosted."
The B.O.B.'s crazy number of artists is 157, to be precise, with artwork extending even into the parking lot, which will be transformed into a sculpture exhibit featuring upwards of 15 artists. Kim Lemmen-Braat, director of operations at The B.O.B. , says her company has made the commitment to host the art as well as provide space for special events.
"We've had several of the artists call to put on meet and greets in the building and I think that's only going to increase as the event gets closer," Lemmen says. "Everything is kind of happening last minute and I do foresee a lot of additional pop-up type parties."
Other area businesses have been keen on jumping on the event bandwagon as well, with many of them offering special deals and perks for ArtPrize guests, or hosting special artists' event.
ArtPrize is offering a $15 ArtPrize experience package, which includes a wristband and event guide. With the band, guests receive access to a shuttle that drives through the ArtPrize district, access to special events, and specials from participating downtown establishments.
In addition to restaurants throwing parties for artists, several venues will be having their own parties, such as the
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA)and Schumacher's
WMCAT, a 501(c)3 organization that instructs urban teenagers in the art and technology of graphic design, digital filmmaking and digital photo work.
Spaces all along the Division Avenue of the Arts will be hosting various events throughout Art Prize and most venues will have some form of reception of gathering. The UICA is hosting two venues, using both their space on Sheldon Avenue as well as The Federal Building. These two venues play host to a combined 78 artists, inspiring the UICA to throw simultaneous opening celebrations to attract viewers to the artwork. In addition to the parties, the UICA will also be hosting various lectures and opening their space up to educational groups and programming.
Do's and Don'tsAs the doyenne of the social scene in Metro Grand Rapids, Caprara has a couple of suggestions on the etiquette of attending an artists’ reception.
"Don't say: Why would a person enter that?" Caprara says half jokingly. "I think art is in the eye of the beholder, and what I love, you may hate. Everyone has a completely different preference for what they like."
"If people attend these parties, they should have a general overall respect for what they are seeing: The hard work that these artists have put into their projects, in spite of the fact that many of them have full-time jobs to support themselves."
"The second piece of advice is something that I would give someone like my mom," Caprara says. "Ask the artist what the story is behind this piece. Art is an expression of the artist, so that there is always a story to it. And artists love to tell that story."
Schumacher, a native of Lansing who moved to Grand Rapids for her first job as marketing director for
Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids, also has some tips for what she calls the ArtPrize "marathon."
"Be comfortable," she says. "It's not the time to put on your Sex and the City wear, not it's not stiletto- season. It's definitely wear your cool urban sneakers, come as you are, be casual. I was actually joking with someone about getting velour jumpsuits to wear the entire time because I do not have enough clothes to last me all the way through ArtPrize.
"Do look at things that you may not be attracted to, art wise, that really stretch beyond what you would normally like or dislike. And don't drink too much. Again, this is a marathon and we have to make sure people last. There definitely going to be a lot of art/bar hop crawls to participate in, but we want to make sure that everyone can endure to see artwork, so they can cast their votes."
A Grand Rapids resident, Juliet Bennett Rylah writes for Revue magazine and Grand Rapids
magazine and performs with the band, The Fainting Generals. Matthew Gryczan is managing editor of Rapid Growth.