Whatta Difference a Year Makes! (aka. I have an Art Prize venue)

Art Prize does things a little differently. After you register as an artist for the big show, you must connect with a venue so you can show your piece. There is a chance that, despite your best efforts, you might not connect with one. This means that you don't participate and it happened to me the first time I entered AP in 2009.

Last year, I entered the "venue connection" phase of Art Prize by sending out ~12 inquiries to different potential art-showing locations around Grand Rapids. As May wore on, I had about 8 rejections and was wondering if my project (which I thought was great!) would see the light of day in this setting. Maybe this wasn't the sort of event my work was made for? 

Well, as you might know if you've been following along, I DID connect with the amazing Mitten Brewing Company at the very end of May and all went well from there. 

So, coming into this year, I figured things would proceed in a similar fashion. I had a list of venues that interested me, and, when April 20th rolled around, I was ready to start sending my requests anew.

Welp. That is NOT how this year went down. 

At 12:08am on the 20th (yes, 8 minutes into the connection phase... which runs until early June, by the by), I received the first of (what would be) 7 requests to show FROM THE VENUES THEMSELVES. The venues were pursuing ME.

I could not wrap my brain around this change of events! Wow. They must REALLY like my piece... they must see some merit/potential in it. This is so humbling!

I ended up signing with the first one and can now announce that "Rob" will be on display at The B.O.B., right in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. I could not be more thrilled and figured that I could NOT look a gift horse in the mouth and wait around to see how many more requests I got (even though, that would have been fun in a vane way). The B.O.B. is an established venue; they must know what they are doing.

So, consider yourself updated! :)

Now, I need to frame this giant thing in preparation for September... practicality was not a concern when I created this piece, so, wish me luck. Oof!