GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., February 23, 2011 – The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) is proud to announce the Curators’ Choice Award and People’s Choice Award for 19 Holes: Artist Designed Mini-Golf. The artists will be accepting their awards at UICA on Tuesday, March 22, at 3:30PM!
CURATORS’ CHOICE AWARD
UICA’s Visual Arts Committee awarded the Curators’ Choice Award to students from Kendall College of Art and Design’s Sculpture and Functional Art Program, led by faculty advisors Sam Blanchard and Bob Marsh. The hole Blue Greens is an inverted golf course, where the player putts on the blue sky while diverting white stylized metal clouds. On the gallery ceiling directly above the “sky”, the students created a green with mechanized flags that flap.
According to Steve Samson, UICA Exhibitions Manager, “Blue Greens was awarded the curators’ choice award based on its wit, creativity, originality, structural integrity, playability and overall aesthetic quality. It is a perfect example of how artistic creative ingenuity can push us to look at something in a new way. Blue Greens encompassed all the criteria that our curatorial committee was looking for with this unique exhibition challenge.” The students involved in this project were: Kayla Thompson, Ryan Donovan, Kari Thurman, Lauralin Wilson, Sean Medina, and Jay Bickel.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Based on a public vote, the People's Choice Award is given to Tone It Down! by Nathan Lareau. Lareau’s hole uses twenty-three steel fire bells of various sizes, placed on an incline in a staggered “plinko-like” configuration. When the player hits their ball over the ramp, the ball strikes the bells and creates a random pattern of tones, depending on the ball’s path. Lareau is a local artist from Cedar Springs, MI.
19 Holes: Artist Designed Mini-Golf features 19 creative and inventive mini-golf holes created by regional and national artists, designers, and businesses. Organized by UICA in cooperation with LaughFest, the event runs through March 31 at UICA. Proceeds raised from the event will support both the programs of UICA and Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids.
Guests are invited to participate by purchasing a round of golf. Admission prices are: $8 for Non-Members, $6 for UICA Members, $5 for Children 12 & Under, and mini-golf is Free for Children Under 4.
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© 2011 Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts
