A pop-up space featuring Michigan-made furniture that serves as a venue for concerts and panel discussions will be among the attractions at the annual ArtPrize, an international art competition in Grand Rapids.
“Michigan House at ArtPrize is an introduction to what we want to do in other cities,” says Paul Moore of Start Garden, a Grand Rapids-based investment firm that sponsors the house. “The Michigan House is a living, breathing experience — like a space capsule of the best things about this place we call home — that can be transported into crowds of people to show (not tell) the story they’ve missed.”
The pop-up space in a house will be located in the Trust Building on Ottawa Avenue and will host concerts, speakers, corporate gatherings, yoga, art, and photography classes, pop-up retail, and food and drink tastings. Grand Rapids-based Middle West, a pop-up store selling Michigan products, will curate the design of the house.
The Michigan House was last in Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Music, Film, and Interactive Conference and Festival (SXSW). ArtPrize had a recording studio at the house and about 14 different bands recorded there.
After a 19-day stay in Grand Rapids, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 11, Michigan House will next appear in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show in January.
“With a rich legacy of creativity and innovation across our state’s history, Michigan’s creative and design industries are strategically poised today for increased growth,” says Jennifer Goulet, president and CEO of Creative Many Michigan, a Detroit-based economic development organization, formerly known as ArtServe Michigan. “The Michigan House at ArtPrize will cultivate heightened visibility for these unique assets and establish resources and networks that will accelerate business and economic development opportunities statewide.”
