Art.Downtown.2.0

 Over three hundred artists, twenty five venues, two trolleys and one big heaping dollop of fun on Friday April 16th from 6 to 11pm. Now in its eight year, and the second under the Art.Downtown. moniker, the event continues to expand and highlight our local creative community. This year's event will include seven trolley stops that hit all of the major areas of activity. 

Starting in 2002 as an informal event featuring temporary galleries, the event gained structure as "Spring for the Arts" under the Avenue for the Arts spearheaded by Jenn Schaub, of Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids. In 2009, in recognition of the many efforts to showcase local and regional talent, Jenn began working with Paul Amenta, adjunct instructor at Kendall College of Art & Design and originator of ActiveSite. The collaboration worked towards pulling together a variety of efforts into one day of events with each entity maintaining its brand.

In 2010 the collaboration continues with all parties working under the single brand of Art.Downtown. The event will feature twenty five independently curated sites throughout the downtown area. The work featured will include local and regional artist as well as student work from seven state colleges and universities under the guidance of their faculty mentors. Institutional participants and sponsors include Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, West Michigan Center for Art & Technology, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Downtown Alliance, and Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids.

The event is designed to be family friendly, find a parking spot and walk or ride the route. Volunteers in Art.Downtown. t-shirts will be on the street, at trolley stops, and on the trolley to assist visitors. Art.Downtown is one day only and runs from 6-11pm on Friday April 16th.