GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Muse GR on Grand Rapids’ West Side serves as a home for three of the about 900 ArtPrize 2024 entries, featuring multiple pieces by each of the three artists.

“We tried to do something a little different,” Stephen Smith, the co-owner of Muse GR, said. “A lot of times you’ll see artists come to ArtPrize and they’ll have one piece. It might be a huge piece but we have artists that each did a solo exhibition. So it’s kind of unique. A lot of times people are coming in to our space and asking, ‘Hey, which piece is an ArtPrize piece?’ But actually the whole exhibition is their ArtPrize entry.”

The entries at Muse GR are “Weapons of Mass Construction” by Pauly M. Everett, “SURREALITY” by Sheefy McFly and 456: A Reflection on Fatherhood by Keyon Lovett, otherwise known as The ArtSchool Dropout.

The first two are inside the gallery, while Lovett’s can be found behind Muse in the Art Pod. This is the first time the pod has been reused since it took home an ArtPrize award in 2021. Smith said it was a perfect choice to put in there.

“Originally the Art Pod was created for others. It wasn’t designed for us,” Smith said. “It’s really beautiful and impactful.”

Lovett’s ArtPrize entry is designed to look like and function as his childhood living room, complete with a sofa and family portrait. If you look in the portrait, you’ll find Lovett as a baby and his late father holding him.

Lovett’s father died when he was just 15 months old. While he doesn’t remember much about the man, Lovett tried to showcase the man he was with his art.

Next to the sofa on the coffee table, there are quite a few pieces to commemorate Lovett’s father: stacks of money he collected while working as a cab driver in Flint, a Bible that he read start-to-finish shortly before his death and a gun that he gave to his wife for protection while he worked.

But the main focal point of the piece are the dozens of letters pasted to the walls of the “living room.” These letters are ones that Lovett wrote to his dad, even though he would never read them.

Lovett started working on the piece after finding out his wife was pregnant with their first child.

“Just thinking about the passing of my father at 15 months for myself. What does 15 months encompass for me and my son? And how can I reach back and involve conversations with my father that I never had dealing with this process?” Lovett said.

The art piece also includes its own unique soundscape created by Lovett’s cousin, Huey Mnemonic. Despite knowing Lovett for his entire life, Mnemonic said seeing the piece come together made him see his cousin in a new way.

“I had to step away for a second, it became too much. But in a good way,” Mnemonic said. “These letters really showed a whole new side of Keyon that I didn’t really know.”

Lovett said he hopes that others can learn from his story and art. He hopes to help break the stigma surrounding men and their mental health.

“For there to be a platform like ArtPrize where I get to flex my muscles a bit, my creative muscles, and talk about some things that may be uncomfortable for others or relatable for others, is great. It’s OK to have loss and to mourn,” he said.

Lovett’s and the other pieces at Muse GR will be on display throughout the rest of the art competition, which wraps up Sept. 28.