Comcast Is Technology Sponsor Of GR's ArtPrize
Comcast announced that it will be the official technology sponsor for ArtPrize, the world's largest art competition open to any artist who can find space in Grand Rapids.
The citywide exhibit, which is open to the public and free of charge, begins Sept. 22 and ends Oct. 10, with members of the public selecting the winning art through online voting.
Using Comcast's new High-Speed 2go mobile Internet technology, Comcast will provide ArtPrize visitors the opportunity to vote for their favorite art at five convenient kiosk locations and three roving mobile voting stations within the three square-mile radius of the event. Cash prizes totaling $449,000 will be awarded to the winners of ArtPrize.
"We're grateful to have Comcast join ArtPrize this year," said ArtPrize Executive Director, Bill Holsinger-Robinson. "So many visitors in 2009 were excited to vote right away, but needed the convenience of a voting station. Comcast brings that convenience to 2010 and helps raise the technical capacity of our community that much more."
Voting stations can be found at the following ArtPrize neighborhood sites:
Center City – 146 Monroe Center (outside of Biggby Coffee)
Heartside – Van Andel Arena - 130 W. Fulton
Hillside – Grand Rapids Civic Theater – 30 Division Ave. North
Monroe North – LaFontsee Galleries/Underground Studio – 80 Monroe Ave. NW
Westside – Bridgewater Place – 333 Bridge St. NW
"As the official technology sponsor for ArtPrize this year, this event provides Comcast a great venue to showcase the power of our broadband network and demonstrate our newest product for Grand Rapids customers, Comcast's High-Speed 2go mobile technology," said Tom Coughlin, Senior Vice President for Comcast in Michigan. "We are proud to help power ArtPrize with our high-speed internet service, giving visitors another convenient way to vote for their favorite artist."
Comcast will also provide connectivity to the HUB located in the Old Federal Building at 155 N. Division Ave. in the center of downtown Grand Rapids. The HUB will act as a central resource center where visitors can relax and talk. It will have free access to computers powered by Comcast for voter registration, voting and trained technical support.
High-Speed 2go is Comcast's new 4G/3G mobile Internet service that provides fast Web connectivity on the fastest wireless network, providing consumers Internet how they want it, where they want it. The world-class services Comcast is known for in the home are beginning to be extended to where consumers work, live and play. High-speed mobile Internet connectivity is one of the first products consumers want as a natural extension of Comcast's high-speed Internet in the home or the workplace. Comcast High-Speed 2go will officially launch in Grand Rapids later this year.
Comcast's Michigan Region serves more than one million customers statewide and employs approximately 4,000 people. Comcast has three major call centers located in the state and houses its Michigan Region headquarters in Southfield.
ArtPrize is a radically open competition. Registered artists and venues match with one another at artprize.org and the public votes for the winners using mobile devices and the Web. ArtPrize 2010 has 1,713 artists from all over the world participating in the unprecedented competition that awards $449,000 to the prize winners. More than 334,000 votes were cast during the 18-day event last year. For more information, visit www.artprize.org.
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