Learning From ArtPrize

Posted by Rebecca Eggleston on October 02, 2009

ArtPrize, a big experiment to reboot the conversation between artists and audiences in Grand Rapids, MI has been a huge success in its first week alone.

And it is inspiring not just because it has attracted more than 1260 artists showing in 159 venues and more than 33,000 voters registered to date, but for what we can learn from this new model of engagement.

In her blog for GOOD here, Carol highlights the great lessons we can learn from ArtPrize.

The lessons of ArtPrize, including “elimination of the middle man, the value of rapid prototyping, the value of giving people permission to be entrepreneurial, and the evolution from institution to platform—have broad application to other areas of urban life. Imagine if local government transformed itself into a platform to match citizens to opportunities to improve the community… if local government relied on technology to eliminate middle managers who serve simply to move information back and forth… if local government simply moved with a sense of deadline and urgency.”

More here.