ArtPrize and Project 1 - Grand Rapids

[GRDadof3]

Amen.

The people in my circle (Information Technology) range from art-obsessed web designers who think this is the great thing to ever happen in the history of the world (not quite, but close) to system-administrators who aren't sure they'll even bother "heading downtown to check it out."

Truth is, whether art affects and inspires you or not, it's a truly huge industry, one of the oldest on earth if you think about it. Having the world's largest art prize is a truly big deal, of global proportions.

People flew from all over the world to Deroit for those first couple DEMF festivals. That was the type of thing that puts a city on the map (much more so than Rothbury really). I think this has potential on that level, and metro-Grand Rapids is still only 1/5th the size of metro-Detroit... so to get that kind of tourist traffic here would have a substantially larger impact on the health of our region.

I think the people who aren't excited about this really don't need to be for ArtPrize to be a success. The only people who need to be fired up already are, and will be here to make it work.

I second that Amen. And then the one's not interested will be complaining about traffic.

It's times like these I wish I were an artist.

[Rizzo]

What about an Urban Planet entry? Take all kinds of talents represented here and put them into a project. What if we could band together and choose a venue or area downtown that could be improved by design? Think long ago when we collaborated on the World Class City stuff. From there we can translate ideas into a layered multimedia experience. Maybe this is a perfect time to do away with The Press building and put in everyone's talents to see what we can come up with? Just a thought.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Rizzo

[GRDadof3]

What about an Urban Planet entry? Take all kinds of talents represented here and put them into a project. What if we could band together and choose a venue or area downtown that could be improved by design? Think long ago when we collaborated on the World Class City stuff. From there we can translate ideas into a layered multimedia experience. Maybe this is a perfect time to do away with The Press building and put in everyone's talents to see what we can come up with? Just a thought.

What about draping the Press building with a cloth, and then projecting images onto it?

[mejane]

What about draping the Press building with a cloth, and then projecting images onto it?

Good thought. The way I understand it, for group entries, each member of the group still pays his/her 50 dollar entry fee. I think it's a good value - for others, not so much.

[Allison Slater]

People in the electronica world still identify Detroit as a major city because of DEMF. Not many cities in North America are known world-wide for electronic music. Detroit, Chicago, NYC, Miami, D.C., and Toronto are about it, I think. So yes, in the art world I could certainly see this as being a huge thing.

[Kib]

What about draping the Press building with a cloth, and then projecting images onto it?

What about draping the Press building with a tight plastic bag and putting it out of its misery?

I keed, I keed...

[joeDowntown]

You beat me to that punchline.

What about draping the Press building with a tight plastic bag and putting it out of its misery?

I keed, I keed...

[GRDadof3]

What about draping the Press building with a tight plastic bag and putting it out of its misery?

I keed, I keed...

If you had suggested that for WOODTV's studio, I'd be there with the twisty ties.

[MuskeMI]

In response to MuskeMI, I do think that it can create many art-centric jobs. Think about some jobs tied to art...

Graphic Design/Marketing & Promotion/Brand management

Web design

Movie Production & acting - combined w/ tax breaks could be huge

Music performance & production

Performance art

Photography - after all, we have a beautiful region

Painting/Sculpture - probably the most associated with "art" but one of the smallest segments (market size)

Architecture/Interior Design - complimented with some of the great architecture we have in GR

Consulting

Fashion design & production

Literature & Poetry

Art History and Education - now we start talking about art schools and museums.

So you list a bunch of jobs and that makes it so? I guess I'm lost. Who is going to pay for performance artists? For that matter, who is going to pay for any of these? Again, this will be a huge boon for the city for the 3 weeks, but after that, I'm skeptical. Let's see what's changed come November. I would certainly take this festival over no festival, but I still would have preferred to hear an announcement that involved permanent creation of 100s of jobs. I would rather bring skilled, young people here to work rather than as tourists.

[Rizzo]

What about draping the Press building with a cloth, and then projecting images onto it?

Sure why not? Although, I was thinking more along the lines of covering the Press' sign at the corner with a large flat surface for projection. Or how about getting Num's thesis projected on the Vandeberg Plaza wall on Monroe? I'm sure downtowners will appreciate a hometown tribute. There's a lot of good ideas we have here on the forum and plenty of spaces downtown.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Rizzo

[jas49503]

So you list a bunch of jobs and that makes it so? I guess I'm lost. Who is going to pay for performance artists? For that matter, who is going to pay for any of these? Again, this will be a huge boon for the city for the 3 weeks, but after that, I'm skeptical. Let's see what's changed come November. I would certainly take this festival over no festival, but I still would have preferred to hear an announcement that involved permanent creation of 100s of jobs. I would rather bring skilled, young people here to work rather than as tourists.

I think that companies would add staff in anticipation of increased revenue or based on jobs that the artists hired them to complete. the amount of money that this should add to the local economy is significant. if 25k people come here from out of town on average, per day and spend 100 dollars (which seems conservative considering the cost of food and lodging) that equals 35 million dollars added to the local economy. certainly a few people could be added to the local workforce for that kind of money.

[GRDadof3]

So you list a bunch of jobs and that makes it so? I guess I'm lost. Who is going to pay for performance artists? For that matter, who is going to pay for any of these? Again, this will be a huge boon for the city for the 3 weeks, but after that, I'm skeptical. Let's see what's changed come November. I would certainly take this festival over no festival, but I still would have preferred to hear an announcement that involved permanent creation of 100s of jobs. I would rather bring skilled, young people here to work rather than as tourists.

I don't think Rhino meant direct long term jobs from this. But that it might make Grand Rapids more attractive for those types of companies to set up shop here. Goes back to the old "cool cities/creative class" concept. Something like that you won't see tangible results in November.

But if you compare it to a 2.5 week "convention", 100,000 - 500,000 attendees is a big chunk of folks. Probably bigger than any convention we've had here, ever. Even 50,000 is a big convention. And if it's as successful as some people believe it will be, it will probably grow in scope in the coming years (ArtPrize being the headliner act, with peripheral conferences, shows, film fests, etc.)

As mentioned, a lot of people think of SXSW as a music fest that launched careers like Dave Matthews, Blues Traveler and a great many others, but it also includes film and interactive components:

http://www.sxsw.com/interactive

..that do draw thousands of people.

As I mentioned before, there is a townhall meeting at UICA Monday night at 5:30, that I would assume will be packed. It will be interesting to hear more about the logistics of all of this.

One thing I'd like to know is, how do you make sure that you see all of the entries? Will there be a guide made?

[PR-15]

If you were to stand up and say that any altogether positive but to the average person uninteresting event is going to change Grand Rapids for all time, people are going to roll their eyes and probably have a negative reaction to the news in general. This is what is happening. It takes a lot of faith to have the that type of enthusiasm. Don't be offended because people don't share yours.

So what exactly is "interesting" to the average person? Is there any single event that consistently engages even 15% of the local population? I don't really have much personal interest (or the time) to attend 95% of the events around GR, but I'm happy people turn out for them and make an impact on someone's economy.

Lots of people do not enjoy The Griffins/Rampage/Whitecaps/Kenny Chesney/tractor pulls/symphony/opera/Broadway Theater Guild...but few question the contributions these events make to our community. And what about The John Ball Park Zoo, Frederik Meijer Gardens, GRAM? Lots of locals never darken those doors...but most would agree they are invaluable to the fabric of GR and create a positive impression of GR that far exceeds the numbers at the turn-styles.

SXSW is a predominantly a music festival so your comment about people not "coming out to see the art" in Austin is a little misleading. ArtPrize will include all art, and that can include music, film, digital projection and all forms of traditional media. So if you don't like a particular piece of art/media you can always stroll down to the next building hosting an entirely different artist.

If 300,000-500,000 people turnout annually for our proud (but very tired) "Festival of the Arts" every June to eat questionable food for 3 days, ArtPrize's potential to draw a significantly larger and more diverse audience over a 2 week period is incalculable at this point. The bottom line is you're going to see an international art competition with 1000's of visitors coming to GR from this country and many others.

Giddy up.

[joeDowntown]

I think it would be great if building owners along Monroe Center offered short term (1 - 2 month leases) in empty spaces. If we have a lot of people coming to GR, it'd be a good short term opportunity for retail and would add vibrancy to the city.

Joe

[d8alterego]

This festival will probably bring a lot of talented, media savy artists to GR which can't be a bad thing right? Some of them will probably stay in GR if this is an annual event so that way they can go for it each year. It may not bring in artists in the hundreds, but more than there are now. I assume this festival will also be to Kendall's benefit in their recruiting efforts, which would further bring more people to the school to study and live in GR. I could see Kendall growing quickly in the next few years.

I would certainly take this festival over no festival, but I still would have preferred to hear an announcement that involved permanent creation of 100s of jobs. I would rather bring skilled, young people here to work rather than as tourists.

[PR-15]

This is a very unique and insightful angle on ArtPrize by the "People" who designed the ArtPrize logo...it's worth a quick read:

http://www.peopledesign.com/thoughts-on-th...tprize/#respond

[Rhino6885]

Just throwing this out there...

I read somewhere that they are expecting 500,000 - 750,000 people. Assuming that this count is determined by counting 1 day for 1 person as an attendee (so a person attending for all 17 days is technically 17 people), here are some numbers.

Per day, a person might spend:

$40 on meals/entertainment

$20 on consumer goods/souvenirs

$60 total spent per day

$60 X 500,000 (the lower number) = $30 million

Now, say 50% of the visitors will need lodging

$50 on lodging/day X 250,000 = $12.5 million

That's $42.5 million for businesses.

It's also 6% X 42.5million = $2.55 million in sales tax revenue

Taking this even further...

Say this spending results in profit margins of 10 percent. That's $4.25 million in PROFITS for Grand Rapids businesses.

A little further...

If stores pay 30k/year for an employee, and profits are reinvested in expansion, $4.25 million has the potential to add 141 jobs.

$4 million+ in profits, 100+ jobs, from a $500k PRIVATE investment.

Yeah, my numbers may be out of whack, but should be somewhere in the ballpark.

[GRDadof3]

Just throwing this out there...

I read somewhere that they are expecting 500,000 - 750,000 people. Assuming that this count is determined by counting 1 day for 1 person as an attendee (so a person attending for all 17 days is technically 17 people), here are some numbers.

Per day, a person might spend:

$40 on meals/entertainment

$20 on consumer goods/souvenirs

$60 total spent per day

$60 X 500,000 (the lower number) = $30 million

Now, say 50% of the visitors will need lodging

$50 on lodging/day X 250,000 = $12.5 million

That's $42.5 million for businesses.

It's also 6% X 42.5million = $2.55 million in sales tax revenue

Taking this even further...

Say this spending results in profit margins of 10 percent. That's $4.25 million in PROFITS for Grand Rapids businesses.

A little further...

If stores pay 30k/year for an employee, and profits are reinvested in expansion, $4.25 million has the potential to add 141 jobs.

$4 million+ in profits, 100+ jobs, from a $500k PRIVATE investment.

Yeah, my numbers may be out of whack, but should be somewhere in the ballpark.

Nice work Rhino. That probably explains why several local leaders I've spoken with since the announcement were pretty pumped about this event. And why Jim Dunlap of Huntington Bank was happy to open the press conference.

I now personally have four out of town people who want to come to this, from Detroit and Chicago. 50,000 locals x 4 - 6 guests each = 200,000 or 300,000.

[John E]

I'm wondering if the $50 art entry fee and/or $100 Venue Host fee will go toward the prize money or if it is just for operating cost.

Are the venue hosts going to be charging the artists?

~John

[jas49503]

how many hotel rooms does grand rapids have? This seems like it may be a issue if 500,000 people come here. Even if you count one person, per day, that still equals roughly 35 k per night. I would assume that many people will stay with friends or family and you can get several people in each hotel room but it seems like there will still be a need for 5-10k rooms.

[jbr12]

I'm wondering if the $50 art entry fee and/or $100 Venue Host fee will go toward the prize money or if it is just for operating cost.

Are the venue hosts going to be charging the artists?

~John

The venue's can not charge admission to see the work, however, venue's can charge the artist for use of their space.

http://www.artprize.org/venue-guidelines

[Kib]

Inspiration:

One more for you Dad...

[John E]

I would like to see Orange County Choppers do a Grand River themed bike for the contest. Sounds like a winner and would look great on the Blue Bridge.

~John

[MiGuyz]

Should be interesting if any national media (or national arts media) picks up on this, and how quickly. Methinks that will be the truer test of what kind of impact this will have.

(not that I, or anyone else should care about how we're covered in the press/media, but isn't that part of the motivation behind this? EDIT: I guess what I'm trying to say is if this doesn't get a blip in the NY Times arts section, it doesn't exist in a lot of peoples minds)

It took just three days. Here is the New York Times link: Call it Idol Art?

[GRDadof3]

It took just three days. Here is the New York Times link: Call it Idol Art?

Saw that. I've been doing a little informal tracking of the buzz, and it's starting to get picked up in the blogosphere. Here it is in the LA Times Arts blog:

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:3gD-Up...=clnk&gl=us

When I did this search yesterday, "ArtPrize" Grand Rapids, I got 18 pages. Now it returns 25:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=%22artp...;fp=jeilKnlXsOA