Full Exposure With Brian Kelly

Kevin Buist has been the Artistic Director at ArtPrize since its inception over 10 years ago. Over the years, I’ve had a front row seat and watched how Kevin seemingly effortlessly handled some of Artprize’s most passionate and vitriolic critics. These critics could be a noisy bunch over the years, and ArtPrize has successfully weathered a few controversies from time to time. The way in which Kevin was always searching to find ways to improve the organization when the criticism was the strongest was nothing short of admirable. I can definitely say that ArtPrize would not be as successful as it has been without his calm demeanor, constant curiosity and deep knowledge of contemporary art. ArtPrize is now a biennial event, and with every odd numbered year it will morph into something called “Project 1”, which can presently be seen across Grand Rapids from September 7 - October 27, 2019. Kevin has been at the forefront of planning this huge scale event encompassing three locations and curating five very different