Grand Valley part of kickoff, education program of Project 1 by ArtPrize

Performers from Grand Valley will help kick off Project 1 by ArtPrize while GVSU art education experts and students are planning an education program for K-12 students stemming from the exhibition.

The inaugural Project 1 by ArtPrize will run Sept. 7-Oct. 27. The event this year replaces ArtPrize, which is switching to a biennial schedule.

Project 1 is a smaller-scale event with installations by a few artists at a handful of locations. Those from Grand Valley who are involved with the event are excited by the potential impact of their contributions.

At the opening celebration Sept. 7 in Rosa Parks Circle, about 20 first-year dance students will perform to live music played by Dan Graser, associate professor of saxophone. The celebration event starts at noon.

The opportunity for first-year dance students to perform in downtown Grand Rapids so early in their studies is in valuable experience, said Hannah Seidel, assistant professor of dance.

"In dance, performing is a very big part of how one learns and we want them to have that experience right away," Seidel said. "Sometimes you don't get a chance to get involved right away as a first-year student."

Performing to live music is a rare treat for dance students, Seidel noted. The dancers will get about three days of rehearsal with Graser, who is performing a composition by Vittorio Monti called "Csardas." 

While in previous years Grand Valley Marching Band has helped kick off the larger-scale ArtPrize, the more intimate nature of Project 1 led to a decision to have Graser perform a solo. He said his selection, which is based around a Hungarian folk dance, will work well for dancers.

"As the Music, Theatre and Dance Department, we definitely wanted to do a collaboration," Graser said. "We wanted to choose music that would go well with dancers and make the biggest impact in a little amount of time."

The project time period for Katalin Zaszlavik, associate professor of art education, will last throughout the school year after starting in earnest at Project 1. Zaszlavik is leading efforts to design a curriculum for six K-12 schools -- elementary, middle and high school -- to involve students with art that focuses on the themes explored in the Project 1 works.

Besides visiting installations, students from the chosen schools will also participate that day in a workshop developed by Grand Valley and carried out with help from art education students, Zaszlavik said. Then, for the rest of the school year, the K-12 students will work on projects reflecting an overall theme of what it means to belong. They will show their work in the spring.

"They will be experiencing contemporary art and learning what art is or can be as well as its purpose," Zaszlavik said.