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ArtPrize artwork a draw for cultural tourism in UP

Northern Michigan University student Christopher Dean’s work is displayed at the entrance of the U.P. exhibit in Grand Rapids.

ESCANABA/GRAND RAPIDS — Artwork by artists from across the Upper Peninsula is now on display at ArtPrize 10, the world’s largest art competition.

The event started Wednesday and runs through Oct. 7 in Grand Rapids.

ArtPrize is an open international art competition decided by public vote and expert jury that takes place in a number of venues throughout Grand Rapids. Two $200,000 grand prizes and eight category awards — more than $500,000 in total — is awarded, half decided by public vote and half decided by a jury of art experts.

Art entries from all over the world cover 3 square miles of downtown Grand Rapids — and it’s all free and open to the public. The art will be viewed by about 400,000 visitors and will give the message that the U.P. is a unique arts and culture destination. To check out the latest on ArtPrize 10, go to www.artprize.org.

This year, the official U.P. artists’ venue at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids is The Venue Tower Building, www.artprize.org/venue-tower-apartments.

ARTIST CLYDE HART of St. Ignace is interviewed in front of his 2018 ArtPrize 10 entry, “No Elephants,” on display in Grand Rapids through Oct. 7.

“We are happy for the enthusiasm from our official U.P. ArtPrize venue,” said Pasqua Warstler, regional projects and gallery director at Escanaba’s Bonifas Arts Center. “The Venue Tower Building is in the hub of the ArtPrize district and it’s a great location for us.”

A coalition of arts and tourism organizations and businesses have combined efforts to promote ArtPrize art by U.P. artists to market cultural tourism. Helping to market U.P. artists at ArtPrize include the U.P. Travel and Recreation Association, Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island and several U.P. Convention and Visitors Bureaus: Visit Escanaba, Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau, St. Ignace Visitors’ Bureau, Manistique Lakes Area Tourism Bureau and Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau.

“By presenting some of our strongest, most-creative artists and showcasing the contemporary artwork being created here in the region, we presented the U.P. as a must-see destination,” Warstler said. “The U.P. has a vibrant art scene that attracts artists from throughout the country for its natural beauty and isolation, but the region’s vastness also makes it difficult to gain recognition. ArtPrize is a great opportunity for those artists to be seen and get connected to others.”

Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island supported the U.P. ArtPrize project by hosting a special preview exhibit during their summer high season to add visibility for these U.P. artists.

“The business community of Mackinac Island is a shining example of promoting art as cultural tourism,” Warstler said. “This special U.P. preview exhibit, ‘Crossing the Straits,’ presented artwork in ten venues throughout the town site, and opened with a Meet the Artists opening reception event at the Center for the Arts at Mission Point. It was on display through Sept. 7, and gave viewers a sneak peek into the wonderful art they can expect to see at ArtPrize.”

The event was “a smashing success, garnering twice as many guests as were expected,” said Philip Rice, director of the Mackinac Arts Council.

“Good art is good business and it is about bridging arts and culture into the business world,” Warstler said. “The Pure Michigan ad campaign is promoting the U.P. as a tourist destination, but we want to also say that those same natural resources that draw tourists also draw artists to the U.P. The biggest area for growth is in cultural tourism.”

Upper Peninsula legislators in both the House and Senate also supported the U.P. at ArtPrize project. In a letter initiated by state Sen. Tom Casperson’s office, and signed by U.P. legislators, they stated: “Upper Peninsula arts organizations realize they must work together on a regional level for mutual goals and shared benefits … We enthusiastically endorse the inclusion of ‘Crossing the Straits,’ and we support this endeavor.”

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