Venue profile: WMCAT
One of the venues that has opened up for ArtPrize is the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT). The facility was built as a next generation learning center by global office furniture leader, Steelcase. It’s an open space with a gallery integrated into the central meeting area. One of the central functions of WMCAT is to take at risk high school students within the city and engage them in art, film and design to explore not only their creative abilities but their own identities and where they fit within a larger community.
What’s interesting about WMCAT when it comes to ArtPrize is they will be looking for artists who are open to engaging their students. They are looking for some kind of connection in the work with community, be it a commentary on local community or exposure for the students to a global community.
We’ll be uploading a video of the space in the near future to help artists get a better feeling for the opportunities and limitations of the space, but I wanted to write about it now as we’re on the eve of artist/venue matching becoming available on the website. If you’re an artist who has desire to engage students like the ones WMCAT works with, be sure to try and connect with WMCAT in the coming week.