MichiganRadio

ArtPrize Already Transforming Grand Rapids GRAND RAPIDS, MI (Michigan Radio) - The upcoming ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids is starting to make its mark on the city. Sculptures and paintings have started popping up around town, even though the competition itself doesn't start for another three weeks.

Twelve hundred artists from around the world will compete in ArtPrize. But Erwin Erkfitz is more interested in how the competition can help local artists, and improve the community.

He's started work on a more than 200 foot mural that will cover up vacant storefronts on a blighted block near his home.

Erkfitz says he's trying to get city approval to keep the mural up after ArtPrize.

"Other than that, it would have to get painted over in November," he says. "And hopefully that doesn't happen cause down here we need as much bright colors as we can possibly get."

The ArtPrize competition officially runs from September 23rd to October 10th.

See Erwin Erkfitz's work here.

Contact Dustin Dwyer at dtdwyer@umich.edu.

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