People s Choice: ArtPrize Nine Public Shortlist Features Work at KCAD and UICA

First, it was the jurors’ turn. Now, the hundreds of thousands of visitors to ArtPrize Nine have made their voices heard, and both The Fed Galleries at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) and KCAD’s Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) made a strong showing on this year’s Public Shortlist.

Eva Rocha’s “Object-Orientalis,” showing in The Fed Galleries @ KCAD, was voted a finalist in the Time-Based category. The piece projects beautiful yet jarring video clips of huddled female forms into stark wooden shipping crates, confronting our tendency to objectify human (often female) bodies and connecting it to our apathy about pressing social issues such as human trafficking.

"Object Orientalis" by Eva Rocha

Originally from Brazil, Rocha is now based in Richmond, Va. This is her first time participating in ArtPrize. She has previously been featured in exhibitions at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., Museo Brasilerio de Escultura in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Virginia.

Kyd Kane’s “broke(n)hunger,” showing at UICA, was also voted a finalist in the Time-Based category. The piece blends spoken word poetry and visual art to confront myths about the cause of hunger in the United States, focusing specifically on the issue of accessibility.

"broke(n)hunger" by Kyd Kane

A Grand Rapids native, Kane performs poetry around the U.S. as part of the poetry collective Intellectual Writers. This is also her first time participating in ArtPrize.

As Round 2 voting begins, both Public and Juror finalist pieces, 40 in all, will be eligible to win the $200,000 Juried Grand Prize, the $200,000 Public Grand Prize, and $100,000 in Category Awards. The winners will be announced at the ArtPrize Nine Awards Ceremony on October 6.

See the complete ArtPrize Nine Public Shortlist

See everything on display in The Fed Galleries @ KCAD

See everything on display at UICA