Two Laker entries earn ArtPrize awards

October 15, 2024 (Volume 48, Number 4)
Article by Annie Pettit

artist with microphone in front of Trauma Project display at art gallery

group of students pose around LOVE sculpture in Grand Rapids

A group of Grand Valley alumni and students helped curate and create the 'Trauma Project,' which won the ArtPrize Juried Vote Grand Prize.

Two entries from the Laker community were among the ArtPrize 2024 winners.

Stafford Smith, associate professor of photography, was the Juried Winner for the New Media category for his work, "Me so Calgon." A group of students and alumni curated the Juried Vote Grand Prize Winner, “Trauma Project."

Smith said he has participated in ArtPrize six other times. “Me so Calgon” is a personal piece for Smith, he said, though its themes can be felt by a wide audience.

“It draws from experiences in my childhood. I'm Asian American. There were commercials, movies, that stuck in my craw. That’s where the idea came from, pop culture elements that seemed harmless,” Smith said.

He said he was grateful to the support from the campus community. “I’m very grateful to Grand Valley for giving me time in the form of a sabbatical to give me blocks of time to focus on scholarly work,” Smith said. “Grand Valley has been a very supportive place and I work with a lot of creative colleagues.”

Over 20 artists from West Michigan came together to curate and create the paintings and audio accompaniments for “Trauma Project." The collection of 16 paintings was paired with an 18-track album.

The group included Megan Daniels, a fourth-year studio art major. Daniels said she gained the experience she needed for her ArtPrize role thanks to her work as a gallery attendant for the GVSU Art Gallery.

Her time as a gallery attendant for “Trauma Project” has continued to provide Daniels with professional experience as she completes her final semester. “What I appreciate most about the Trauma Project, is the level of vulnerability the artists, musicians and writers were willing to share with the audience," Daniels said.

ArtPrize tour for Battle Creek students
Students from the Battle Creek Public Schools pipeline program traveled to Grand Rapids to tour ArtPrize in late September.

Estefany Paniagua-Pardo, career navigator for the program, said one of the program's goals is to provide opportunities for students to explore Grand Rapids.

Avery Cica, an integrative studies major, said she had not been to ArtPrize before. Now in her third year at Grand Valley, Cica said the pipeline program was a major reason for attending Grand Valley. “I always really wanted to go to Grand Valley,” Cica said. “I'm able to customize my degree to fit my specific interests, which is to go into child life services."