This lunch hour I walked up Division Avenue, The Avenue of the Arts as its becoming known here. Most of the venues don’t open until five, so I had to peak in the windows of some. I discovered Young Kim’s Salt and Earth this way and think it’s one of the more unusual pieces I’ve found. It’s made of salt and local earth and includes portraits taken “by way of chance/fate encounters with residents of the community.” A simple light bulb on a cord hangs from the ceiling over each of the thirty portraits. The entire presentation is very striking. Others where I work have started talking about it today too. I’ve cast my vote and am going back after five to see it up close.

The Avenue is on other side of Fulton Street and has been in measurable transition for the past five years or so. What was dilapidated falling down buildings in a once-thought-unapproachable neighborhood (many of our displaced population reside here) is now full of artist’s lofts and low-income housing, edgy shops, bars, and eateries. Our Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (U.I.C.A.) is in the process of constructing their new building on a key corner here. I’m told there are ninety artists living and working within the main two-block area. The largest most predominant building on the Avenue was just renovated and the apartments upstairs are already full. One of the established first-of-the-true-believers here told me that there’s quite a buzz “out there” about the art scene that Grand Rapids is becoming. He’s met two newcomers from San Francisco and two more from Australia who just moved into the new apartments based on what they’ve heard.

It’s the constant and committed energy of our local artists that has set the stage for events like Artprize. Local artists have dug in their heals and the community is developing a growing appreciation for them. This has all contributed to the explosion that is Artprize.