The announcement of ArtPrize in 2009 was greeted in typical Grand Rapids naysayer fashion, though curiosity was strong enough to provoke thousands of people to pronounce judgment via social media votes, or look in on all the fuss about art. Even restaurants were closed — or ran out of food — the first weekend of the more than two-week event. Whether people liked it or not, they were — every one — caught up in the energy generated by an unleashing of creative endeavors. The sheer volume of entries, even in the first year, helped create a call to action, a call to come and see, to participate. |