By Joel Grimsley, Arts Editor
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Sept. 13 marked the beginning of the 15th year of ArtPrize, and within the artists who entered there are some Aquinas alumni and students.
ArtPrize, an annual competition that turns Downtown Grand Rapids into an interactive art gallery, gives the chance for artists of all mediums to win prize money in both popular and juried voting.
More than $400,000 dollars are awarded directly to artists, attracting large numbers of competitors, international and local. With over 1000 entries spread out across the districts of downtown: museums, streets, bars, restaurants, shops and hotels become exhibition venues open to the public.
Entries range in form, scale, and medium such as the 35 ft illuminated marionette puppet, which climbed the Grand Plaza Hotel during the opening ceremony.
Aquinas College alumni have previously had much success at ArtPrize, with Chris Laporte, a past student and now professor at Aquinas winning the public vote in 2010 for his “Calvary” piece which can still be seen in the library. And more recently, past student Chelsea Nix, who co-created “The String Project,” won the 2018 popular vote.
This year, it was revealed at the midpoint of the competition that two more AQ Alumni had made it into the top 100 in the popular vote. Rob Vanderzee’s “The Prophets” is a series of oil paintings that aims to open a new dialogue of environmental awareness, which according to Rob serves as “a symbolic guide to show us how to save our planet.” His pieces are impressive in both their creativity and technical skill. The piece has proven to be very popular, with Rob’s paintings going on to win the public vote for the 2D category.
Tess Mashour’s collection of 18 frames called “Just Words’ illustrates the impact of short phrases on people in a series of 3D models that also made the top 100. Each frame contained a model relating to a different which Tess has gathered from strangers. The art piece aims to show the long-lasting effects of words, serving as a reminder of the power of words.
It is not only alumni who have entered into this year’s ArtPrize students still studying also have submitted entries. Addison Cota, a junior at Aquinas, co created a large mural piece which combines photography and charcoal drawings into a collage in an artwork called “La Vita è un Viaggio”; a Italian phrase that translates to “life is a journey.”
Addison worked closely with her elder sister Shaylin, a photographer, to create the artwork which was displayed in City Hall.
The piece has some locations that would be familiar to locals of Grand Rapids, but also contains more personal and international locations, a reference to recent travelling the sisters have done.
Their artwork is a compilation of work done over the course of a few years, with Shaylin’s photography and Addison’s sketches being edited together in photoshop and then printed on a large scale.
Uniquely, the Cota sisters encourage the public to participate in their submission, allowing visitors to write comments and draw sketches to add to their piece. Addison said “it was not only to show the public our travels, but to encourage them to engage and leave their own mementos and experiences.”
The public have enthusiastically interacted with the Cota sisters’ work, Addison said that every time she visits her artwork at Grand Rapids City Hall, she sees something new added to the wall.
Both Aquinas’ current students and alumni’s contributions to the annual event serves as an example of how the local community interacts with ArtPrize, and how impactful the event is. It is an opportunity for anyone using any artistic medium to share their work with thousands and participate in one of the largest public art events in the world.
Kelli Bishop’s “Sisters on the Ground” – Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, Photo by Joel Grimsley
Rob Vanderzee’s “the Prophets” – Devos Place Convention Center – photo by Joel Grimsley
The Cota Sisters’ “La Vita è un Viaggio” – Grand Rapids City Hall photo by Joel Grimsley
The Saint 