Nellie"s Needles

Friday, July 09, 2010

I'm An ARTPRIZE Artist!

Those of you who follow me on Facebook are familiar with this photo.  It portrays the anxiety of getting a venue in which to exhibit "The Lake" in ArtPrize*.  I had announced my entry in this post.  But entering and getting to be an exhibitor are two different things.  It was a scramble of 2,249 registered artists vying for exhibition space in 226 registered venues.

I had mailed a packet of written information with photos to fifteen of my first choice venues.  Two weeks later I sent emails that included updated material and pictures to those venues plus fifteen more.  One venue very much wanted "The Lake" to be part of their exhibition.  However, after a trip to Grand Rapids to view the space, I determined that this large scale installation piece would not show well in any spot where there was space to hang it.  Declining that invitation was nerve wracking.  What if no other venue responded to my work?

I received a couple of emails expressing interest in my entry.  However, all but one indicated that they would get back to me later after they had curated their exhibitions from ALL the entries.  So when this email arrived I got excited:
Your work is very unique, and with a subject matter that resonates with many of us.  We do hope to include your entry in our venue.  I'll be in touch when things are solidified.
I had to make another trip into Grand Rapids to get a repaired sewing machine (that's another post yet to be written).  While there, I took two panels from "The Lake" plus the study to show the art director for that venue.  He liked what he saw.  I liked the exhibition space.

Woo Hoo!  "The Lake" will be in the DeVos Place Convention Center.
It's located at 303 Monroe Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids.  This is the lobby entrance.
Art by 54 artists will be exhibited here.  "The Lake" will hang in the Skywalk Gallery.























............................................

After the final audit of artists and venues that secured each other for ArtPrize 2010, the results are…
  • 1,713 artists
  • 192 venues
Artists from 21 different countries will exhibit, including the United States. 44 different states in the U.S. will be represented.


*ArtPrize is an open art competition, giving away the world's largest art prize. Part arts festival, part social experiment - this international art contest is decided solely on a public vote.  So if you're in the vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan from September 22nd to October 10th come join the fun!

27 comments:

Rafael's Mum said...

Congratulations Nellie! The Lake will look fabulous in that gallery!

Carmen said...

Congratulatione Nellie. You totally deserve it. Greetings from The Netherlands.

Unknown said...

Wow! In the sky walk! Sounds like a perfect place for a lake!!Congratulations Nellie!

Deb Lacativa said...

Whoa Nellie! Yes...thats where I spent the whole of the conference. When people walk into that venue they cannot help but look up! Congratulations!

Kay said...

Congratulations on such a wonderful venue. Professionalism and persistence, as well as terrific art, paid off for you. Hope I can see this.

Anonymous said...

WHOO HOOOOO!!!!!! That's fabulous news and so well deserved!! "The Lake" will look phenomenal in that gorgeous venue!!!! YIPPEEEEEE!!! I'm so excited for you!!!

Beverly said...

Wonderful news, Nellie, and well deserved! Your piece should show fantastically in that space. Can't wait to see pictures of it installedd!!

p said...

nellie...tod and i are sitting here with our mouthes open and congratulations spilling out along with wows and ahhs...
i am shaking with excitement for you...you've worked long and hard and this is well deserved. we cannot wait to see more! the space is INCREDIBLE! good job and a round of hugs and chinking of champagne glasses to you!!!

arlee said...

WOW Nellie---KUDOS---you went for it with verve and now look---wonderful space for your work--congrats! I admire that you were able to say no to a place too that couldn't display your work to its best advantage--that takes guts and conviction.

Rian said...

Congratulations. I'm so happy for you.

G'G'ma said...

Congratulations! I'm so happy you were able to get such a good venue. There is so much more traffic in the downtown area than the outer areas. I'm looking forward to seeing The Lake and hope to meet you then.

Unknown said...

Wow, it's not surprising that your work made it into this contest. Fingers crossed for you to take the prize!

Heather said...

Congratulations Nellie - so glad you got a venue you wanted. That building is amazing.

Kim Hambric said...

This is fantastic, Nellie. I wish I could see this impressive work in person.

Joyce said...

Well done! And that looks like a fantastic venue. I'd love to attend that show. I just checked and it's 19 hours of driving so it's doubtful.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Humungous congratulations!!!

Unknown said...

Congrats! Very exciting and looks like a fabulous venue!!!! XOXO

sophie said...

Yay! The De Vos Center is a great venue for your work. What a great match. Congratulations.

(I wish I still lived in Michigan so I'd be able to see it up close and in person).

West Michigan Quilter said...

Congratulations! I'll be down there to see it. Can't wait!

June Calender said...

Congratulations! What a beautiful venue! Enjoy every minute of this wonderful honor.

Leona Harden said...

You're the BEST!

YES!!!

What days are you going to be there?

Nellie's Needles said...

All of you, thank you! Your enthusiastic responses are most welcome ... now I'm hardly remembering the frustrations created by the process of getting to be an ArtPrize artist.

I'm really happy to be in DeVos Place. I like that the art will be seen from the lobby floor. But best of all, I think it will look terrific when viewed from the skywalk level. Even better is that people will then get to walk across the skywalk to get a close up look ... to virtually be standing on the beach in front of "The Lake".

I'll be in Grand Rapids a lot when the exhibition begins to view all the other wonderful art. I'll be scheduled to "meet and greet" and possibly will be demonstrating my techniques at DeVos Place. Those dates are yet to be determined.

Lynnda Tenpenny said...

Nellie -- that's just awesome ! You deserve it.

allie aller said...

This is fantastic, Nellie.
Congratulations!
Wow, GR sure has changed since I grew up there.....

Susan Elliott said...

What GREAT news Nellie! So excited for you AND for the great venue. And thanks for including the CBS Sunday morning link...I missed it this week and I love that show.

I'll have to check the venues to see if there's anything near me...

Deborah M. said...

How exciting. Congratulations!

Joshua Russell said...

Nellie, great blog! We can't wait to see "The Lake" this September. It's not too long now...right around the corner!