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Mural Created by UICA ArtWorks Students Unveiled at 106 South Division
Ribbon-Cutting Led by City Commissioner Rosalynn Bliss
Mural Designed and Painted by Students from UICA’s ArtWorks Youth Program
Free Public Celebration With Refreshments to Follow
Preceded by UICA ArtWorks Student Meet-and-Greet and Awards Ceremony at UICA
Grand Rapids, Michigan – On August 9 at 6PM, UICA’s national-award-winning ArtWorks Youth Program will unveil a new mural at 106 South Division! Led by local artist Erwin Erkfitz, twelve of the ArtWorks student participants from area schools designed and painted the mural on a wall at the Avenue for the Arts. This student-created phase of the mural will be unveiled to the public in a ribbon-cutting ceremony officiated by City Commissioner Rosalynn Bliss. Joining Commissioner Bliss will be the ArtWorks student artists and representatives from Avenue of the Arts and ArtWorks program sponsor Herman Miller. Following the 6PM ribbon-cutting, there will be a free celebration at the mural site, with food and drinks as well as sidewalk chalk, hula hoops and cake for the kids.
The second phase of this mural project will be completed by Erwin Erkfitz, who guided the ArtWorks students in creating the first phase of the mural. Erkfitz’s mural, which will be located directly above the students’ mural, will be inspired by the students’ design and his portion will be entered into ArtPrize 2012.
The mural is a powerful, lasting public symbol of the UICA ArtWorks-Avenue for the Arts collaboration, and highlights the important role the Avenue for the Arts and UICA’s ArtWorks program play in engaging youth in the arts and cultural life in Grand Rapids. “Our young people are learning how to use creative thinking to work as a team, to solve problems and to express themselves constructively. These are exactly the kinds of skills we want young people to have, to be able to succeed in school, in work and in life,” said Kathryn Chaplow, UICA Board President.
Additionally, starting at 4:30 PM on August 9, UICA will offer an exclusive meet-and-greet with all 33 ArtWorks students at UICA, located at 2 Fulton West. Each student will display their work and interact with guests, answering questions about their designs, the artistic process, and their experiences participating in ArtWorks. In an awards ceremony at 5PM in the UICA Film Theatre, each student will also be recognized and receive an arts materials stipend for completing the summer program. This ceremony will celebrate the 33 ArtWorks students and their three 2012 ArtWorks projects: the completion of the first-phase mural at 106 S. Division by 12 students, handmade books by 11 students created for Herman Miller each booklet design is based on themes selected by Herman Miller these themes include Environmental Advocacy, Making Technology Work for People and Work Happens Anywhere these booklets will be auctioned at an upcoming design conference by Herman Miller in support of a charity and for the first time, otherworldly costumes created by 10 students that will be worn by live models during UICA’s Odd Ball event on September 18. Due to space limitations, RSVPs to the meet-and-greet and awards ceremony at UICA are required.
??In 2012, UICA’s ArtWorks Youth Program received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the highest honor youth programs can receive in the United States. First Lady Michelle Obama recognized ArtWorks as a leading example of a community-based arts and humanities programs that makes a marked difference in the lives of their participants by improving academic scores and graduation rates, enhancing life skills, developing positive relationships and expressing themselves creatively. ArtWorks was created to ready young people ages 14–21 for 21st century creative careers. The program utilizes contemporary art as a learning platform to promote active and creative citizenship, as well as provide studio experiences, professional resources, and opportunities for students to present themselves and their work to the community.
Celebrating its 35th year as a contemporary arts organization in a beautiful new LEED-certified building on the busiest intersection in Grand Rapids, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts initiates conversation with cutting-edge visual art, film, performance, literature, music, education programs and events. Partnering with regional, national, and international artists, the UICA offers innovative experiences with the latest art forms and the newest creative ideas - groundbreaking work that might not otherwise find a venue in Michigan.
