GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Patrons walking into The B.O.B., the beloved \u2018Big Old Building\u2019 in downtown Grand Rapids, have encountered more than just a party atmosphere the last couple of weeks.<\/p>\n
Located among the collection of restaurants and clubs at 20 Monroe Ave. NW lies a sculpture called “Arc of Redemption<\/a>.”<\/p>\n It was created by more than 30 inmates enrolled in the welding program at the Muskegon Correctional Facility (MCF). The sculpture reflects their journey of learning new skills, developing discipline and pursuing a second chance, according to the artists\u2019 statement. <\/p>\n The 1903 historic building is once again an ArtPrize venue for the international competition\u2019s 15th year. This year, there are thousands of entries<\/a> from 930 artists across 155 venues in downtown Grand Rapids and its surrounding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Angela Leslie, school principal at Muskegon and Brooks Correctional Facility, told MLive that this is the first time inmates have been able to coordinate an ArtPrize entry.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s quite a process to get this approved through the ranks, so once that was approved, the inmates only had about three to four months,\u201d Leslie said. \u201cIt was a short window of time they had, but they worked on it pretty much every day during class.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesse Oosterhouse, the welding trades instructor, is the vision behind bringing the inmates together as a cohesive learning environment, Leslie said. <\/p>\n Depicting a man welding, \u201cArc of Redemption\u201d highlights the effort and focus involved in both craftsmanship and personal growth.<\/p>\n For the creators, learning to weld has been more than acquiring a trade \u2014 it\u2019s been a step toward rebuilding their lives.<\/p>\n Through the physical work of welding, they\u2019ve begun to shape not only metal but also their futures. <\/p>\n According to the artists\u2019 statement, the sculpture is a powerful example of how education and hands-on training can support personal change, resilience and the hope of a better path forward.<\/p>\n The inmates who participate come from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, with few having welding or metalworking experience prior to enrolling in the welding program.<\/p>\n The Michigan Department of Corrections offers various programs dedicated to offender success. Each prison in the state operates a school with classes relating to General Educational Development (GED), employment readiness, trades and more. <\/p>\n For MCF, inmates with a year until release have the opportunity to learn how to weld and earn national certifications in four common welding processes. Instruction incorporates academic content, technical skills and workplace behaviors necessary for success.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they saw where it would be displayed, there was a sense of pride, and they were happy that the public could truly appreciate their work,\u201d Leslie said about \u201cArc of Redemption.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMost students come in with no experience, no knowledge of welding, so Jesse basically worked with them from ground zero.\u201d<\/p>\n The 3D-welded ArtPrize piece is made with various scraps of metal, including copper wires for the shoelaces. The sculpture features a welder holding onto a plaque with the words \u201csuccess, career, dignity, hope, freedom, stability, purpose, and family.\u201d <\/p>\n Along the bottom, the MCF inmates who worked on the sculpture wrote their initials.<\/p>\n Leslie said the goal is to get prisoners into the workforce once they are paroled, and programs like these motivate them to keep going.<\/p>\n Although getting approvals takes time, the effort is worthwhile, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re the only program across the state that has done this ever, so it\u2019s a special thing,\u201d Leslie said about the ArtPrize entry. \u201cI think it\u2019s significantly impacted the inmates; they are just so much more confident, especially because their families are out there seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cArc of Redemption\u201d will be on display at The B.O.B. through Oct. 4, following the ArtPrize awards ceremony in downtown Grand Rapids.<\/p>\n Voting is open until 10 p.m. on Thursday. Learn more by visiting the ArtPrize website<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Patrons walking into The B.O.B., the beloved \u2018Big Old Building\u2019 in downtown Grand Rapids,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":{"0":"post-196112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}