If you’re heading out to downtown Grand Rapids for ArtPrize 10 later this year be sure and check out Troy Ramos’ “Sound Space” at 111 Lyon Building.

Ramos was the winning entry in Pitch Night Detroit where he received a $5,000 grant to realize his vision. The event was held at Bank Suey in Hamtramck.

ArtPrize 10 takes place September 19 through October 7.

Ramos will blanket the 111 Lyon Building space in black and trim it in neon light, offering an enclosure in the center for visitors to escape the bustle of the event and experience the work. Speakers placed throughout the room will fill the space with music, original soundwork curated by Ramos, creating an interesting sound-world that confronts silence.

The idea is to create non-directional works with a sense of timelessness that offers visitors a space to connect and find meaningful experiences.

“I love putting sound works into artistic spaces because it gives it a reflective quality that you can’t find in different places,” says Ramos. “My installation offers visitors a place to go and sit for as long as they’d like, allowing them take in the experience for however they want to view it.”

Ramos’ work was selected from among five artists who presented their ideas for ambitious installation projects at the Pitch Night event.

Each artist had five minutes to pitch his or her idea to a panel of art professionals including Jenenne Whitfield , CEO of the Heidelberg Project; Paulina Petkoski, co-founder and owner of Playground Detroit; Michael Andrews, executive director of Ox-Bow; Alissa Shelton, director of Bank Suey, and Jennifer Goulet, president and CEO of Creative Many.

“We picked Ramos’ piece because we wanted to look at the overall ArtPrize festival experience. We thought the opportunity for sound and light to work collaboratively to speak was most compelling,” says Whitfield, reflecting on the judges’ pick. “Visitors can get dizzy from looking at so much art, but to have a place where you go in and experience art from a different perspective, will be an excellent use for that particular space.”

Since its inception, the Pitch Night program has continued to expand and in 2018 included events in six cities across the country. Each event awarded the winning artist $5,000 and a spot in a prominent ArtPrize venue during the tenth annual event. Learn more about Pitch Night by clicking here.

Pitch Night Detroit was presented by 21c Museum Hotels and Delta Air Lines, and underwritten by Experience Grand Rapids.

ArtPrize Pitch Night launched in 2013 as a means of discovering and supporting ambitious, exciting projects and to reduce the barriers to bringing them to the annual competition.

  21c Museum Hotels, Alissa Shelton, ArtPrize, Bank Suey, Creative Many, Delta Air Lines, Experience Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Heidelberg Project, Jenenne Whitfield, Jennifer Goulet, Michael Andrews, Ox-Bow, Paulina Petkoski, Pitch Night Detroit, Playground Detroit, Troy Ramos