GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There are a lot more neighbors here in Grand Rapids with ArtPrize going on. Artists from around the world are showcasing their work here in my neighborhood. I had the opportunity to meet one person who flew all the way across the pond to showcase their work.
“There's a little Tinkerbell here. That was my mother's,” Elizabeth Eade said as she pointed at her exhibit.
Eade is one of the many hundreds of artists here for ArtPrize 2025.
Her journey was a little different from that of many here, as she flew into Detroit from London with her art piece carefully wrapped inside her luggage.
“This is my first time bringing my work over to America. So it's exciting,” Eade explained. “The logistics were interesting, getting stuff shipped. I brought her over in my old luggage, which was an adventure in itself. Anxiety-inducing adventure, definitely.”
No Ordinary Love is a skeleton made up of jewelry pieces from women from all over the world.
“So on the spine here, we've got a souvenir of confirmation, which a very old lady sent to me, and that was from her confirmation as a child,” Eade said.
The artist told me this is all thanks to around 1,000 women sending in their jewelry to her.
“It was very exciting to be trusted with all these stories of people's lives. So it's about lives well lived,” Eade said.
ArtPrize has artists from 18 countries. That's down from the previous year, which was around 40. ArtPrize's Executive Director Catlin Whitington is exploring why and what it takes to continue drawing in artists from around the world.
“I think that we'll just continue to look at national trends and international trends as we move forward and continue to do intentional outreach,” Whitington added.
Eade says she plans to be back again!
“It's just been a great experience from start to finish. These guys here at Art Now Gallery, they've been amazing,” Eade said.
