ArtPrize art still on display at West Coast Coffee

West Coast Coffee, located at 55 Monroe Center NW, is an ArtPrize venue in center city that should be on everyone’s list as they pass through town. No, it doesn’t hold any of the top ten. It does however, showcase over 40 works of art in a variety of styles and media. And West Coast makes a fantastic White Rabbit latte. 

This has become my favorite venue for a few reasons...number one being the coffee. Yes, the art is the focus here, but there is absolutely no way anybody could visit this place and NOT try something off the menu. There are too many venues in Grand Rapids where ArtPrize viewers enter excited and thoughtful, leaving with sore feet and an empty stomach. Yes, there was some beautiful work, but how often was it all the way up on the third floor, with no elevator in sight, no benches for resting, and a strict “no food or drink” policy?

If you know the feeling I am describing, West Coast Coffee is somewhere you should seriously consider giving a look before ArtPrize packs up for the year. The walls are packed like a French salon, and a wide variety of work is on display. Paintings, photographs, sculpture, drawings and everything else in between are in this one venue. Together, the owners hand picked art to show that spoke to them in some way, and they to not discriminate by style or medium. Everything is in one well-lit, wide-open floor, with tables and chairs conveniently placed around the room. And while you’re there, you can grab a cookie. Or, perhaps you are more of a bagel person. Either way there is a beverage for every taste available to go with your light lunch, and you are given a place to sit and enjoy it while you peruse all the art this wonderful little venue hosts for the remainder of ArtPrize 2013.