ArtPrize kickoff at Grand Valley

The fourth annual ArtPrize competition officially opens Wednesday, September 19, with 162 venues hosting more than 1,500 artist entries. Join the Grand Valley kickoff events beginning at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids.

The Laker Marching Band, under the direction of John Martin, will perform at 6:30 p.m. and invites all Grand Valley students to join in by playing on kazoos, which will be provided. The band will then march in cadence along Monroe Street, through Campau Square and perform again on Campau Street. After proceeding across the Blue Pedestrian Bridge and arriving at Eberhard Center, the band will perform once more, welcoming all to Grand Valley’s ArtPrize venue. Performed music will include the “Grand Valley Alma Mater,” Offspring’s “Come Out and Play,” and Kanye West’s “All of the Lights.”

Grand Valley’s ArtPrize venue includes sculptures by artists Charles McGee, based in Detroit, and Juan Luna, from Holland, as well as works by students from Vanderbilt Charter Academy, Black River Charter Academy, Henry Ford School for Creative Studies and West Michigan Academy of Arts and Academics. Learn more at www.gvsu.edu/artgallery.