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Venue owner not surprised by ArtPrize changes

Peaches Bed & Breakfast owner Jane Lovett says ArtPrize is exhausting venues and she is not surprised Rick DeVos and his team decided to change the competition to a biennial event.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The announcement Thursday that ArtPrize will occur every other year instead of every year disappointed many and took others by surprise, but not everyone.

Peaches Bed and Breakfast owner Jane Lovett says a lot of time, effort and money goes into displaying the art at the nearly 200 venues that participate in the competition. Her business was one of the first ArtPrize locations when the event started 10 years ago. Lovett says taking a break every other year is a good idea and she is not surprised ArtPrize decided to change.

“I am not particularly surprised,” she says. “There has been a lot of clamor for it from the beginning. It is a huge undertaking, especially for the venues and the city, so it doesn't surprise me that they are going to every other year. I’m afraid they are exhausting their venues.”

ArtPrize 10 is coming up in September. In 2019 a new event called "Project 1 by ArtPrize" will showcase one or a small group of artists in a city-wide exhibition. Founder Rick DeVos says he is excited by the possibilities.

“This is simply about continuing to push the experience into new corners,” he explains.

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