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GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – A Art Award the artist asks the community for help after one of his pieces disappears overnight.
Kenn Vidro, an artist from Grandville, has been participating in the competition for nine years. His latest entry is titled “Pop Goes Grand Rapids”. The pop art piece features pop icons in front of popular landmarks in West Michigan. It is located at Mojo’s Dueling Piano Bar and Restaurant along Monroe Ave NW.
“They come down and they’re right there, like the crowds are back,” Vidro said. “I just like to make people smile.”
When Vidro arrived on Saturday to settle in for the day, he said the center canvas was missing. The room wasn’t inside Mojo or anywhere else. Only the threads that held it up were still there.
“I’m upset, but not as much as I would be,” Vidro said. “It is a work of art and I can reproduce it.”
At this time, there are no known videos or witnesses to explain what happened, but Vidro believes the fan art may have attracted someone who loved it and decided to to take it.
The missing piece features aliens, like ET and Grogu, in front of Van Andel Arena.
“Someone said the Mona Lisa was stolen and she became famous, so maybe it will happen,” Vidro said.
In an emailed statement to FOX 17, ArtPrize called the situation sad and asked people to be careful of the nominations.
“It’s very sad when visitors take it upon themselves to vandalize, break or outright steal an artist’s work,” said Craig Searer, Executive Director. “ArtPrize encourages seeing as much art as possible and respecting it at the same time. Unless the piece says it’s OK to touch, we encourage visitors not to touch the ArtPrize entrances. The beauty of ArtPrize is that we have created a platform for artists and places to connect and create magical spaces. We encourage places and artists to have accommodation agreements and insurance in place to help navigate these situations.
Vidro says he can paint a message in the open space and advocate for its return, but would prefer that no other competitor had the experience.
“I encourage people to just respect the artists and the art even if you want to,” Vidro said. “The artists worked on it a lot.
Anyone with information can contact Vidro at [email protected] or click here.
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