Watercolor paintings depicting the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. An interactive website designed to spark community involvement. A video installation that applauds its audience and drawings of oil-based consumer products painted in waste oil.

These were just a few of the art pieces created by Grand Valley State University students and displayed in venues across Grand Rapids during ArtPrize 2010.

Students and staff will have the opportunity to talk about these works of art and others during a special panel discussion Friday with several GVSU students that participated in this year’s open art competition.

“With so many pieces of art on display at ArtPrize, it was very difficult to find or identify pieces with GVSU’s student artists,” said Steven Lipnicki, assistant dean of students. “This event will offer one of few opportunities for our students to be recognized and talk about the experience.”

Hosted by the Pew Student Services and the Winter/Secchia Community of the Pew Campus, the event will be held in the University Club in DeVos Building C from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Henry Matthews, GVSU director of galleries and collections, will open the hour-long program by welcoming the participating panel of student artists. During the panel discussion, students will show their artwork and talk about their ArtPrize experience. The panel will be followed by a question-and-answer period for the audience.

“We wanted to recognize the students for their work and allow them to talk about why they entered ArtPrize and what it meant to them,” said Ashley Schulte, graduate assistant in the Pew Student Services office.

Student artist and panelist Mike Schulz said he is grateful for the recognition and plans to thank GVSU for the role its art program has played in helping him grow as an artist.

“We have all harnessed our talents by being enrolled in the programs at GVSU,” he said. “I (thank) Grand Valley for all of the support and resources that have helped us become such motivated artists.”

Schulz is currently majoring in art and design with emphasis in graphic design. His ArtPrize entry, UrbanCommentary.com, was an interactive website that encouraged open expression in posts streamed to a window installation at the Biggby Coffee venue.

Schulz said he is also looking forward to sharing what he learned from his first ArtPrize experience.

“ArtPrize is a fantastic experience for any artist,” he said. “I learned so much about being in an actual show. It was really beneficial to be competing against some of the most talented artists from all around the world. It meant so much to learn how to play in the big leagues.”

Fellow student artist Danielle Krause, a double-major in psychology and art and design with an illustration emphasis, is also excited to talk about her first time entering ArtPrize.

“My experience in ArtPrize was amazing,” she said. “I loved being able to have my piece displayed at a public function and see how many people liked my work.”

Krause’s piece, “Life of Dementia,” was a series of three watercolor paintings, “Fear,” “Confusion” and “Death,” that were on exhibit at the Ottawa Tavern. The paintings depicted different emotional and physical stages associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The series was inspired by individuals Krause knows personally, many of whom she works with in her job at a nursing home.

“I wanted to paint the emotions they feel or things I see,” she said. “ArtPrize meant a great deal to me because I was able to show something I am so passionate about to the world.”

Others attending the panel event include film and video student Mark Switzer, who will discuss his video installation, “The Clap”, which represented the need for approval in American society, and art education student Carrie Schoenborn, who will talk about her piece, “This is not an oil spill,” which is made of waste oil and paper.

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