Juror representatives at the “Why These Finalists” (3-D, Time-Based /JW Newson
Early learner tapping to music. /Caitlyn Diroff
ArtPrize 2016 officially came to a close on October 9th following the final prize winners being announced two days prior. Once again the tastes of the public and the expert jurors stood in stark contrast. Wounded Warrior Dogs by James Mellick clinched the public vote grand prize, a piece that the juror representatives at the “Why These Finalists” (3-D, Time-Based) decried as being overly focused on the United States rather than having a more global application. The jurors selected “The Bureau of Personal Belonging” by Stacey Kirby to be awarded the juror grand prize, a piece that’s social commentary on personal identity and society’s value or lack thereof of various groups didn’t strike as strong a cord with the public as it failed to make the public’s top 20.
Although the ArtPrize competition has concluded for the year, the ArtPrize Education team isn’t shutting down shop. ArtPrize works closely with ArtPrize Partner Schools throughout the year to design best-practice resources and bring their students' ArtPrize experience into the classroom. Additionally, ArtPrize Education Days Partners continue to offer field trips to their arts and cultural institutions.
During the 19 days of the ArtPrize competition, the ArtPrize Education team hosts ArtPrize Education Days for school groups visiting the event. These are 30–90 minute programs that are free of charge and include a range of offerings including guided tours, poetry workshops, STEAM activities, artist-led presentations, design challenges and more. As this world renowned art competition concluded only days ago, it was refreshing and inspiring to learn how many students from Kindergarten through grade 12 were impacted by this creative collaboration.
“The ArtPrize Education Days programs collectively served over 16,000 from Grand Rapids and surrounding areas during ArtPrize Eight,” said Becca Guyette, ArtPrize Education Manager.
Margaret Mead was famously quoted for stating that, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” As the youngest learners (children from birth to age 8) explore, the entire world is a laboratory for their inquiring minds. The Artprize Education team catered to these young minds with their Early Childhood Friday Series. This three-event series was developed for students from Head Start for Kent County, the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) and Grand Rapids Public Schools Early Childhood.
The Early Childhood Friday Series kicked off the morning of September 23rd, bringing the Ah-Nab-Awen Park to life as groups of students filled the park with laughter and excitement. Educators from a host of Kent County Head Start locations led 450 Preschool students around various activity stations set up by several community-based organizations. Participants included the YMCA Veggie Van, the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum, Learning From Scratch, Kevin Kammeraad, and an ArtPrize sponsored activity.
An organization which also had an activity station at ArtPrize Education Days was Mind Meets Music, WOOD TV8's 2016 Connecting with Community award recipient. Mind Meets Music is a local non-profit organization that uses music to increase literacy and academic skills in underserved, preschool through second grade students.
Mind Meets Music’s Program Coordinator Erin VanDellen led songs and activities with Master Teaching Artists Shawn Bouman and Malia Huffman. VanDellen stated, “Shawn, Malia and I truly enjoyed teaching so many excited children today! Integrating music and literacy is what Mind Meets Music is all about and ArtPrize Education Days provided us with a wonderful opportunity to share our program.”
The community collaboration displayed at ArtPrize Education Days Early Childhood Friday Series epitomized the traditional African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The public and expert juror could agree that the children were the true beneficiaries of Artprize Eight!
In addition to the Early Childhood Friday Series, the ArtPrize Education Team also offers events targeted toward students in grades K-6, grades 7-12, and Afterschool programing in collaboration with the LOOP program, which serves Grand Rapids Public Schools. ArtPrize Education Days was presented by PNC Bank. For more information on ArtPrize Education Days and the events and support they offer for schools, families, and children of all ages, visit the ArtPrize website.
Jerry Wayne Newson is a member of Mind Meets Music.
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