If art and design with

Events

Engage!
industry awareness is
what you seek, Grand
Rapids provides an
excellent venue for
your exploration. Fur-
thermore, Grand Rap-
ids offers a surprising
amount of support for
the arts.

The following resources will help

you on your art and design journey
in Grand Rapids:

Arts Council of Greater

Grand Rapids
Festival of the Arts
Grand Rapids ArtPrize
www.artsggr.org

ArtServe Michigan
www.festivalgr.org www.artprize.org

Art & Design

This event was first held in 1970 after “The ArtPrize, as its name connotes, is the world’s
www.artservemichigan.org
Calder” (officially titled La Grande Vitesse) largest art prize ($250,000). There are no official

Michigan Council for

was installed. The festival includes a variety of judges; the prize is awarded by popular vote.

Arts and Cultural Af-

booths, stages and art exhibitions. The prize was first awarded in 2009.

fairs
www.themedc.org/Arts

Map of ArtPrize-host-
ing Venues for the 2009
Contest
www.artprize.org/venues

This brochure was lovingly de-

signed by Anna K. Jonsson, who
calls Grand Rapids her hometown
with both affection and pride.
 Attractions Industry

The Grand River valley sits in an unassuming
site in Michigan, with its namesake river open-
ing to Lake Michigan. As of the 2000 census,
the population of Grand Rapids is 197,800. By
all counts, Grand Rapids could be described
as “ordinary.” However, such a description is
inaccurate, as it fails to reflect the city’s unique
relationship to the history of industrial design.
Grand Rapids was a furniture production center
from the ninteenth century, given its ideal posi-
tion on the Grand River, which facilitated easy
access to freshly logged timber from the sur-
rounding virgin forests (If you look up furniture
in wikipedia, you get a link to Grand Rapids in
“see also”). Because furniture design took on a
playfulness of form and function, particularly in
the early 20th century, the city became a small
but supportive haven for artists and designers.
Grand Rapids Art Museum
www.artmuseumgr.org
Newly relocated, the museum features featuring
1,200 works of design and modern craft, includ-
ing furniture.
Frederick Meijer Gardens
www.meijergardens.org
Botanical gardens and sculpture park, includ-
ing sculptures from Mark di Suvero, Alexander
Calder, Edgar Degas, and Auguste Rodin.
Meyer May House American Seating
meyermayhouse.steelcase.com www.americanseating.com
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the house was Famous for the school seat you can’t forget
built in 1908-09. It is an example of Wright’s from childhood that combines a chair and desk.
Prairie School era. Free museum owned and
operated by Steelcase. Haworth
www.haworth.com
Kendall College This company focuses on office environments
www.kcad.edu and adaptable workspaces.
Kendall College of Art and Design is a visual
arts college that was once autonomous (it’s now Steelcase
a college of Ferris State University). KCAD offers www.steelcase.com
undergraduate programs in Art Education, Art An international office furniture company.
History, Digital Media, general Fine Art, Furniture
Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Herman Miller
Design, Interior Design, Metals/Jewelry Design, www.hermanmiller.com
Painting, Photography, and Sculpture/Func- Famous for the Eames Lounge Chair, they have
tional Art. partnered with such designers as Gilbert Rohde,
George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, Ray
Wilkes, Paul Laszlo, Robert Propst and Isamu
Noguchi.