Shepard Fairey’s warrant in Detroit resulted in the artist’s arrest at the Los Angeles International Airport this past Monday, where he was held overnight on charges of vandalism. The artist has since been released, and has not made a statement on the event. (more…)
The winners of the sixth annual ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan has been announced, with artist Anila Quayyum Agha taking home the $200,000 first prize for her piece Intersections. The artist was also one of the selections for the Juried Prize, a a first for the event. (more…)
As Detroit’s “grand bargain” draws nearer to realization, The New York Times notes that parts of the deal for the city’s exit from bankruptcy may in fact be illegal. This news comes as a lending company, Art Capital, has offered the city $3 billion in aid using the city’s art collection as collateral, an offer that the city has yet to respond to. “The museum is owned by the city, and the city is, in fact, in bankruptcy. That asset lawfully should be available to assist in the plan of exit,” said Ian Peck, Art Capital’s chief executive. “But we also believe that this art is a national treasure and should be preserved as such.” (more…)
Following pressure from both Michigan art-lovers and the broader art world, an ArtPrize installation has been removed from the surface of Alexander Calder’s La Grande Vitesse. Fleurs et Riviere, a magnetic work by David Dodde, had been attached to the surface of the sculpture, in an attempt to add “whimsy,” but instead received harsh criticism from the Alexander Calder Foundation in New York. “The Calder Foundation wasn’t pleased, and the relationship with the foundation is important to us, so it’s a lesson learned,” said Grand Rapids city manager Greg Sundstrom. (more…)
This year’s ArtPrize awards are now underway, with the public voting on works in 16 categories to distribute over $560,000 in prizes. Held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the award was created by one Rick DeVos, a philanthropist looking to shake things up in the small town. “I wanted to help develop a creative culture, one that’s open to new experiences and ideas,” DeVos said. “We’re very Midwestern here in Grand Rapids. Everybody does their thing and goes about their business. ArtPrize disrupts that.” (more…)
The Michigan county of Oakland, one of three that approved property tax increases to help bankroll the Detroit Institute of the Arts operating budget last year, has unanimously approved a resolution stating that any attempt to sell works from the DIA Collection to benefit the city’s creditors would “terminate any obligation” of the county to continue support. Oakland, along with Wayne and Macomb counties, is projected to contribute $250 million to the museum over 10years, and stated that it “continues to believe that the museum and its collections are important, irreplaceable and indivisible parts of the cultural fiber of the state and region.” (more…)
