NEW YORK — Time Magazine just told its readers there are five top event they should attend this year. ArtPrize was the only U.S. event on the list.
ArtPrize is now globally famous as the art competition with the planet’s largest prize, and the fall event has made Grand Rapids a name in the arts community.
“The world’s most lucrative art competition isn’t in New York City or Hong Kong but in Grand Rapids,” the magazine wrote.
On Time’s list, ArtPrize isn’t number one; it’s number four. But all of the other events are on foreign shores. Pasola on the Indonesian Island of Sumba is an alcohol-drenched mix of sanctioned violence and something the native worms do that we can’t mention on the air. The Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, is rather like ArtPrize for the world music set. The Guca Trumpet Festival in Serbia presents lamb roasts and brass performances in a football stadium (that’s football as in soccer). And the Burt Munro Challenge, named after a motorcyclist who set a two-wheeler land speed record in the 60s, is a festival of racing, food, racing, music, racing, you get the idea.
It’s arguable that ArtPrize is the most tame event on Time’s list. This year, ArtPrize runs September 16 through October 6.
