East Hills merchants in Grand Rapids reach out to the creative community with window design contest

Sharon Hanks

Merchants in the East Hills business district of Grand Rapids are hoping to create a closer collaboration between themselves and the creative community by throwing an ArtPrize-like contest called "19 Windows."

They are inviting local artists to pair up with retail businesses in the district and design original window displays that feature some tie-in with their partners. The public will have a chance to vote for favorite submissions from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 26, when the window displays will be unveiled. The winner of the Peoples' Choice Award will take home $500. A juried Best Window Display award offers a $1,000 prize.

"We're trying to take window shopping to a whole new level," says Brynne Roberts, owner of a women's clothing boutique called Muse at 924 Cherry St. SE, who is helping to organize the event. She says original works of art will be displayed in 20 storefronts mostly along the 900-block of Cherry Street SE from roughly Diamond to Eastern avenues.

Artists have until Saturday, May 1, to enter the contest by submitting three photos of their work along with a $25 entry fee, Robert says. Contest rules can be found at www.19windowsgr.com. Twenty artists will be selected for the competition.

"People think it's a really cool event," Roberts says, noting that chances of a qualifying artist winning a prize is pretty good -- 10 percent. It also offers designers a chance to experience a bit of ArtPrize on a much smaller scale. "It's creating a lot of buzz, a lot of excitement."

Source: Brynne Roberts, owner of Muse in Grand Rapids

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.