Spring 2017 Cultural Event in GR Poll

Every spring semester, the Honors program takes a few students to Grand Rapids to attend a cultural event. This semester there are 4 options to be voted on. Whichever event receives the most votes will be our spring cultural event. Below are the choices for Spring 2017.

Ai Weiwei: Natural State

This landmark exhibition will feature internationally renowned artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei at Meijer Gardens: Natural State is his first show in the upper Midwest as well as the first of its kind for the artist at a botanic garden. Ai Weiwei has emerged as one of the definitive cultural voices for the 21st century. Known to work in a wide variety of contexts and scale, his ability to transform materials to share his ideas, concerns, and vision has given rise to a critically acclaimed and widely appreciated body of work. Iconic among recent work is his colossal Iron Tree, acquired and installed in 2015 in honor of Meijer Gardens 20th anniversary. This exhibiltion is organized by Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park with the artist and Lisson Gallery.

We would attend on a Saturday or Sunday from 2:00pm to 6:00pm in  April.

Euripides’ Helen

The Theatre at Grand Valley presents Helen, written by Euripides. In Euripides’ Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world never abandoned her husband Menelaus for the Trojan prince, Paris. Instead, the gods made Paris a phantom Helen from a cloud, and dropped off the real Helen in Egypt for safe-keeping during the Trojan War. Seventeen years later, Menelaus lands shipwrecked in Egypt with his reclaimed phantom bride. How will Helen persuade him that she is the real Helen? Can she escape marrying the Egyptian king and prevent him from killing Menelaus? Can her cunning win them a ship home to Greece? Is this a tragedy or a comedy?

We would attend on a Friday or Saturday from 6:00pm to 10:30pm in late March or early April. 

Disgraced

The Actors’ Theatre presents Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Lawyer Amir Kapoor and his wife Emily host an Upper East Side dinner. Amir is an American-born, Muslim-raised Manhattan mergers and acquisitions lawyer, while Emily is an up-and-coming artist who focuses on Islamic themes in her art. In all, the dinner table assembly includes and ex-Muslim, and African American, a Jew and a WASP dining over the topic of religious faith. The play asks challenging questions about the nature of faith, about relationships between white and non-white races in post 9/11 America, and about the process and responsibilities of creating art.

We would attend on a Friday, April 21st or Saturday, April 22nd from 6:30pm to 11:00pm.

GR Ballet: Alice in Wonderland

Grand Rapids Ballet presents the world premiere of Alice in Wonderland at the Peter Martin Wege Theatre. Alice in Wonderland will be a delight to the eyes and ears. Curiouser and curiouser is certainly how you’ll feel after watching the costumes, set design, and music all come together in a whimsical onstage adventure.

We would attend on either Friday, April 28th from 6:00pm to 10:30pm or Sunday, April 30th from 12:30pm to 5:30pm. 

To vote for the event you would like to attend as well as what dates work best, please fill out this form. We will take votes until Monday, February 13th. 

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