GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — One ArtPrize piece featuring the past, present, and future of energy use in Grand Rapids has a lot of people talking.
It's one of the top 25 vying for the grand prize of $125,000.
The mural is called "evolve" and you can see it outside of Vicinity Energy on Fulton Street.
The collaboration between artist and clean energy company turned a drab, underutilized space, into a beautiful work of art depicting 135 years of the city's energy infrastructure.
The past is in black and white and gradually more color is incorporated.
The artist says he hopes it makes people feel happy.
"History is our foundation with the good, the bad, and the ugly, whatever that whatever that is, it's part of it, right? We we cannot ignore it. And we see our progression. What What have we done through these years," Sotir Davidhi, the artist, said.
The mural's location was chosen for a reason.
Vicinity Energy is located in the heart of downtown and has been central to area for more than a century.
Change is underway in the energy world as we move away from fossil based fuels to decarbonized fuels.
"It's a bit of an aspirational piece, so that we can do great things if we work together. If we work as a community, and we all move in the same direction. I think we can create great thing. So I think this for me is a conversation starter to drive that.," Jesse Douglas, Vice President of Vicinity Energy. said.
Vicinity Energy is in the process of installing equipment that will be able to convert renewable energy into a thermal heating source for about 120 buildings downtown.
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