ArtPrize runs from September 18-October 4 in Grand Rapids. Grand Valley has had connections to the international art competition throughout its 15-year history.
Laker connections to ArtPrize continue
Sep 18, 2025
Artwork by faculty member
Gabrielle Egnater stands in front of her ArtPrize work, a pillar
sculpted from hundreds of pieces of foam and coated in stucco. Egnater's
work will be at Pekich Park on Cherry Street.
Image credit - photo courtesy of Bryan Esler
One Laker connection is Gabrielle Egnater, visiting professor of visual and media arts. She was recruited by Avenue for the Arts and the Heartside Business Association to create an art installation in Pekich Park on Cherry Street. After submitting a proposal to ArtPrize, Egnater received a grant and began making her sculpture.
Pekich Park features a mural that spans across the wall of a brick building, creating the illusion of an arch through which people can pass. Painted pillars are a motif throughout the mural. Egnater's sculpture is a three-dimensional version of those pillars and is installed in front of the mural.
“Scouting the park was the impetus for the idea of using those pillars and those columns that are in the mural and in the entrances,” said Egnater.
Egnater went through extensive planning to ensure the piece was feasable. She created models through online programs, even collaborating with an engineer to bring the idea to fruition.
“Essentially, the interior of this is like a big cake. It's layers of foam, 200-plus pieces of foam,” she said.
The final outer coating of the pillar is stucco, which ensures the sculpture will survive its three-week installation during ArtPrize. Egnater said she built her piece with the necessity of transportation in mind, as the sculpture may be shifted throughout its time on display to accommodate events held at the park.
“My goal and the goal of Avenue for the Arts and Heartside Business Association was to bring some interest to the community and the neighborhood in the space, and start bringing more people in to see all the work that has been done in the area,” she said.
Egnater said she plans to pitch another piece for ArtPrize next year.
Gabrielle Egnater's sculpture will be displayed in front of a mural at
Pekich Park on Cherry Street.
GVSU Art Museum
The Art Museum has partnered with ArtPrize as a venue. Adrienne Outlaw’s “Grand Dome” will be displayed outside the Eberhard Center on the City Campus. The piece is a 10-by-17-foot geodesic sculpture made from over 100,000 plastic bottle caps, which Outlaw said would have made their way into waste streams.
Outlaw described herself as “a socially engaged artist.” She said, “I transform plastic waste into artworks that prompt dialogue around environmental justice, sustainability and collective empowerment.”
— Sofia Ellis is a student writer for University Communications.
People place triangles of plastic bottle caps on Adrienne Outlaw’s
'Grand Dome,' on exhibit in front of the Eberhard Center.
Image credit - courtesy of Adrienne Outlaw
The Mint Artist Guild, a Detroit-based youth arts organization that
builds entrepreneurial skills through hands-on projects, played a
central role in creating the panels for Grand Dome.
Image credit - courtesy of Adrienne Outlaw
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