What began this summer with individual pieces of community-made art is now part of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped bring the Community Voting Rights Art Installation to this moment.

Opening weekend at Iglesia de Fountain Street gave us the chance to see people experience the finished installation, spend time with the individual pieces, and talk about the ideas and experiences behind them.

It also gave VAAC the opportunity to do what we do throughout the year: connect with people directly. We talked with ArtPrize visitors about voting, shared ballot education and voter information, and registered voters ahead of the November 3 election.

And we’re not finished yet!

los Community Voting Rights Art Installation is ArtPrize Entry 26487, and public voting continues through Friday, October 2 at 10:00 PM.

Thank you for making this possible

Seeing those individual works together at ArtPrize would not have been possible without the people and organizations who helped create space for the project along the way.

We are especially grateful to Metro indivisible de Detroit, our partner in creating and bringing this installation to ArtPrize, and to Statewide Indivisible Michigan for being part of this work and showing up for us in Grand Rapids.

We also want to thank our partners at Common Cause Michigan, Voters Not Politicians, Promote the Vote Fund, MichiganVoting.org, All Voting Is Local Michigan, Jews For A Secular Democracy, Wisdom Institute Detroit, and Michigan Chamber for Reproductive Justice for supporting the project and joining us along the way.

And thank you to every person who came out, spent time with the installation, talked with us, created art, shared the project, helped with voter outreach, or simply stopped to see what people from across our communities had to say.

Thank you, Fountain Street Church

We have loved being welcomed into the community at Iglesia de Fountain Street, where the Community Voting Rights Art Installation is being exhibited as part of Art at the Fountain Inspiring Social Justice. The exhibition brings together work that gives visitors different ways to think about community, rights, and social justice.

We are grateful to Fountain Street Church for giving the installation a home during ArtPrize and creating space for people to gather around it.

The art started with community

Throughout the summer, VAAC and Indivisible Metro Detroit brought art-making pop-ups into community spaces across Southeast Michigan.

At each stop, people were invited to create small pieces exploring voting rights, democracy, civic participation, representation, access, and what it means to have a voice in the decisions that affect our lives and communities.

No art experience was needed. Participants used words, images, found materials, and a variety of art supplies to create something that reflected their own ideas and experiences.

We held pop-ups at Urbanrest in Ferndale, events in Southgate and Hamtramck, QueerSeed Collective in Detroit, Affirmations in Ferndale, and other community spaces. Along the way, people of different ages and backgrounds added their own perspectives to what would eventually become one collective installation.

Each piece is unique. Together, they make up the Community Voting Rights Art Installation now on display in Grand Rapids.

See the individual pieces up close

There is a lot to take in when you see the full installation, so we’re also showcasing some of the artwork on VAAC’s social media.

Take a closer look at what community members created, read the words they chose to share, and see some of the voices that make up the larger installation.

See more of the individual artwork we’re sharing on Instagram:

[Individual works from the installation] • [More community-created voting rights art] • [More from ArtPrize in Grand Rapids]

See more of the individual artwork we’re sharing on Facebook:

[Individual works from the installation] • [More community-created voting rights art] • [More from ArtPrize in Grand Rapids]

And while you’re there, help more people see the project by liking, commenting, and sharing the posts!

There’s still time to visit

The installation remains at:

Iglesia de Fountain Street
24 Fountain Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

ArtPrize Entry: Community Voting Rights Art Installation
Artist: IMD/VAAC Collaboration
Vote ID: 26487

ArtPrize continues through Saturday, October 3 y VAAC will be back at Fountain Street Church on Saturday, October 3, providing voter registration, voter education, and ballot information in person during the final day of ArtPrize.

If you’re coming to Grand Rapids for the final weekend of ArtPrize, stop by the installation and come see us.

Vote for the Community Voting Rights Art Installation

Public voting closes Friday, October 2 at 10:00 PM.

Look for the Community Voting Rights Art Installation, Vote ID 26487.

Su first ArtPrize vote must be cast while you are physically within the ArtPrize boundaries in Grand Rapids. After you cast that first valid vote, you can vote from anywhere.

ArtPrize allows you to vote for the same entry again after 24 hours, so if you’ve already voted for our installation, you can vote for Entry 26487 again once 24 hours have passed.

You can vote by scanning the QR code on the artist label at Fountain Street Church or by finding the Community Voting Rights Art Installation on the ArtPrize voting site.

Already cast your first ArtPrize vote? Keep voting for Entry 26487 through October 2.

ArtPrize is not the end of the project

Taking this work to ArtPrize is an exciting milestone, but the goal has always been bigger than a single exhibition.

After ArtPrize, the installation will have a permanent home in Metro Detroit. The location is still being determined, but the installation will remain on display and continue reaching people beyond ArtPrize.

In its permanent home, the installation can continue opening doors for conversation and civic learning about democracy, voting access, representation, and whose voices are heard.

What started with people sitting down at community events and creating one piece at a time has become a collective work seen by visitors from across Michigan and beyond.

We are grateful to everyone who helped get it here, everyone who has stopped to experience it, and everyone who will help carry the project forward after ArtPrize.