Project 1 by ArtPrize, the first in a series of multi-sited exhibitions of public art taking place in the years between biennial ArtPrize competitions, today announced five artists and collectives commissioned for its debut this fall. Project 1 will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan from Sept. 7 to Oct. 27, 2019. Differing from both ArtPrize and traditional biennials, Project 1 will focus on five artists, each producing large public artworks. Many of these artworks will occupy multiple sites throughout the city, some will function as stages for performing arts and community collaborations, while others will be geared toward audience participation.

Organized under the title “Crossed Lines,” these multifaceted installations, urban interventions and community-oriented projects will explore how lines are drawn—literally and figuratively—to demarcate public and private space, as well as how boundaries inform our movement and our sense of belonging within the city. This theme reflects the complex conditions of Grand Rapids, a place with a rich legacy of public art defining and enhancing civic space, yet still confronted with difficult questions about access and boundaries, both visible and invisible.

“The exhibition seeks to explore thresholds and intersections of many types—aesthetic, political, social—that result in the harmonies, tensions and unexpected outcomes that make a city what it is. When people, places and points of view cross one another it causes friction, which can be the root of both conflict and creativity.” —Kevin Buist, Artistic Director for Project 1

The artists selected to participate in Project 1 are:

Amanda Browder (Brooklyn, NY)
Browder produces large-scale fabric installations for building exteriors and other public sites. She aims to engage the communities where her projects take place, gatherings both materials and stories. Throughout the spring and summer of 2019, she will invite members of the Grand Rapids community to donate colorful fabric and work alongside her to sew immense striped textile pieces that she will wrap around multiple buildings and structures at various sites for Project 1. Browder’s work for Project 1 is underwritten by X-Rite and Pantone.

Heather Hart (Brooklyn, NY)
Hart is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the power in thresholds, questioning dominant narratives and creating alternatives to them through viewer activation. Her submerged rooftops, complete with shingles and dormer windows, encourage visitors to climb on top and inside and contemplate regional oral histories, as well as serve as a stage for performance. Hart’s work for Project 1 is underwritten by Herman Miller Cares.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (Montreal, Canada)
Lozano-Hemmer develops interactive installations that live at the intersection of architecture and performance art. His large-scale interactive installations have been commissioned for events around the world, and he was the first artist to officially represent Mexico at the Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition. He will create a new site-specific piece for Project 1.

Olalekan Jeyifous (Brooklyn, NY)
Jeyifous is a Nigerian born, Brooklyn-based artist and architect. His work in public art, installation, drawing, collage and design explores the past and potential futures of urban environments, drawing inspiration from Afro-futurism, protest movements, and a critical look at surveillance. For Project 1, Jeyifous will create a monumental sculpture referencing the historic and contemporary challenges of housing discrimination and the inequities of urban life.

Paul Amenta and Ted Lott (Grand Rapids, MI)
Amenta and Lott, in collaboration with DisArt, will create an architectural intervention open to the community and activated by performances and events for the duration of Project 1. The project will reimagine the site by temporarily transforming a private space into an accessible public space. The duo previously collaborated with DisArt on several projects addressing issues of accessibility including two Special Projects at the UNTITLED Art Fair in Miami and a project for SiTE:LAB at ArtPrize 2016.

The artists were selected by Artistic Director Kevin Buist working alongside a Curatorial Advisory Committee. The Project 1 curatorial advisory committee includes: Joseph Becherer, Director of the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame; Dan Cameron, Independent Curator; Nicole J. Caruth, Independent Curator and Writer; Alice Gray Stites, Chief Curator of 21c Museum Hotels; Larry Ossei-Mensah, Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit; and Rebecca Carbin, Independent Curator and founder of I Heart Your Work Art Futures and ART + PUBLIC UnLtd.

Project 1 will expand beyond the downtown district traditionally used during ArtPrize. Site locations within the city of Grand Rapids, specific installation details, community events and more will be announced in the coming months. Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Project 1 announcements and happenings.

ABOUT PROJECT 1 BY ARTPRIZE
The ArtPrize organization produces open citywide contemporary art experiences that encourage critical discourse, celebrate artists, transform urban space and promote cultural understanding. Project 1 is the next evolution of ArtPrize, the first in a series of citywide, community-oriented public art commissions to take place between biennial ArtPrize competitions.

From Sept. 7 – Oct. 27, 2019, the Project 1 exhibition will occupy multiple outdoor sites in Grand Rapids, Michigan and will feature temporary public artworks by four artists. The seven-week run will be punctuated by a series of events, volunteer opportunities, educational programs and performances.