Professional artist Kevin Lamure of St. Thomas, ON will be exhibiting his latest artwork titled “Return to Sender” in the World’s largest Art Exhibition. ArtPrize Eight will take place from September 21 to October 9, 2016.
For 19 days in the early fall, around 400,000 plus attendees descend upon three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan where anyone can find a voice in the conversation about what is art and why it matters. 1453 Artists from around the world will be competing for their shot at $500,000 in cash prize money. Artists will be exhibiting their art in every inch of downtown at 171 venues such as museums, galleries, bars, restaurants, theaters, hotels, public parks, lobbies, buildings, walls, bridges, laundromats, and auto body shops.
It’s unorthodox, highly disruptive, and undeniably intriguing to the art world and the public alike. ArtPrize is a radically open international art competition decided by public vote and expert jury that takes place each fall in Grand Rapids—and it’s all free and open to the public.
ArtPrize is recognized as the most-attended public art event on the planet according to The Art Newspaper, and was recently highlighted in The New York Times’ 52 Places To Go in 2016.
A complete list of participating artists and venues can all be viewed at the ArtPrize website.
Lamure participated in the 2013 ArtPrize 5 exhibiting “All Ways = the same Destination” which was ranked one of the top 100 favourite artists at one point during the exhibition.
You have to visit in person and register in person if you want to vote.
“Return to Sender” is intended to engage the viewer to critically reflect on our collective human habits that adversely affect the human condition. The cargo displayed in the shipping container is not items that originate from North America (A.K.A. Turtle Island – as known by North American Indians). The collection of items was introduced by colonial settlers around the time of Christopher Columbus being discovered by the original Inhabitants of Turtle Island. The five white gifts include: white flour, white sugar, salt, lard, cow milk with the addition of alcohol, illicit drugs and religion. The overall Commonwealth indoctrination tells us that the items displayed were usually intended as gifts, currency, and colonial ways of knowledge and entertainment. Our current understanding of social, health and wellness issues teaches us that we would be better off with out the cargo altogether. Hence “Return to Sender”.
