More than 55 CEOs and professional staff members of the Michigan Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus enjoyed the inspiring sights of Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize Nine during the group’s 24th annual educational conference in September.
The two-and-a-half day event, at the DoubleTree Hotel 28th Street Airport in Grand Rapids, was packed with professional content directed to destination marketing teams. It featured eight speakers and 15 vendor displays.
The group also enjoyed two evenings exploring Grand Rapids during the peak of ArtPrize, an open, independently organized international art competition that takes place for 19 days each fall. MLive Media Group hosted a Sunday dinner at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. A tram ride of the gardens and tour of the gallery preceded dinner.
Attendees enjoyed a strolling dinner at the Grand Rapids Art Museum on Monday hosted by Experience Grand Rapids. Doug Small (CEO of Experience Grand Rapids) and Christian Gaines (executive director of ArtPrize) made short presentations. After dinner, several groups of docents from Experience Grand Rapids led the MACVB guests through ArtPrize at numerous venues throughout downtown.
The 2018 conference will be at the Four Points Sheraton in Kalamazoo.
