ArtPrize 2026 · Grand Rapids MI

Be A
Global
Citizen

Or just look like one.

Tour eight countries. Watch a commercial. Collect your AI passport stamp. Then find out what's actually real — starting with your own neighborhood.

EventArtPrize 2026 — Sep 17–Oct 3
LocationGrand Rapids, Michigan
VenueProposed — to be confirmed
ByMedia Lab Midwest
EntryFree & open to the public
Japan passport stamp
Japan · Toyota commercial played first
France passport stamp
France · L'Oréal commercial played first
Visitor Journey

Start here.
End somewhere real.

A participatory installation using generative AI, NFC passports, and a live gallery screen. No app download. Bring your phone.

Step 01 — Start Here

Passport
Control

A Media Lab Midwest photographer-actor greets you at the entry station — passport control reimagined as a party. They take your portrait, just like a real passport photo.

Tap the NFC tag. Your photo loads into a secure digital passport on your own phone. Your journey begins.

No app · No login · Bring your phone
Passport control entry station
All eight passport stamps — Colombia, China, France, India, Japan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, United States
Japan 🇯🇵
Japan 🇯🇵Toyota commercial played first
India 🇮🇳
India 🇮🇳Hindustan Unilever commercial played first
Colombia 🇨🇴
Colombia 🇨🇴Postobón commercial played first
France 🇫🇷
France 🇫🇷L'Oréal commercial played first
Kenya 🇰🇪
Kenya 🇰🇪Safaricom commercial played first
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦Saudi Telecom commercial played first
China 🇨🇳
China 🇨🇳Alibaba commercial played first
United States 🇺🇸
United States 🇺🇸Budweiser commercial played first
Eight Country Stations

Tap the flag.
Watch the commercial.
Receive your stamp.

Each station is a physical NFC tag. Tap with your phone — a real corporate commercial plays in the country's language with English subtitles while PrismaLive renders your transformation. When it ends, your stamp arrives.

🇯🇵Japan
ToyotaSonySoftBankNintendo
🇮🇳India
Hindustan UnileverSamsung IndiaCadburyColgate
🇨🇴Colombia
PostobónBancolombiaClaroFritoLay
🇫🇷France
L'OréalRenaultOrangeLVMH
🇰🇪Kenya
SafaricomCoca-Cola KenyaTusker BeerM-Pesa
🇸🇦Saudi Arabia
Saudi Telecom STCAlmaraiMcDonald's ArabiaHyundai
🇨🇳China
AlibabaHuaweiBaiduLi Ning
🇺🇸U.S.A.
McDonald'sBudweiserAppleCoca-Cola
Live gallery screen
Step 04 — View Results

The live
gallery screen.

Every AI transformation displays in real time on a large central screen — a constantly updating gallery of Grand Rapids residents placed inside the world.

Visible from beyond the installation walls, the screen draws in new visitors through the spectacle of others being transformed. The piece recruits itself.

Powered by PrismaLive · Aaron Sundman
🌍

Congratulations,
Global Citizen.

You just toured eight countries. You were placed inside a cherry blossom festival, a Bollywood market, the Eiffel Tower at night. It was beautiful. It was seamless.

It was also a Toyota commercial. An L'Oréal commercial. A Samsung commercial. Each one a few seconds of beautiful imagery constructed to make you feel something about a place without knowing anything real about it.

The world is worth seeing — but find the people, not the postcard. Find authenticity, not advertising. Start right here, right now, in your own neighborhood.

The Local Passport is waiting.

The Local Passport

Grand Rapids
is the real trip.

Five categories. Twenty local businesses. Each one has an NFC stamp to collect. Complete any ten to earn your Grand Rapids Local Citizen prize. Go at your own pace — you have all 17 days of ArtPrize.

👗
Clothing
3 locations
Basic Bee BoutiqueIndependent women's fashion
Lee & BirchCurated apparel & gifts
Rosa's ClosetSustainable secondhand
🎁
Gifts & Antiques
4 locations
The Counting HouseCurated gifts & home goods
RebelIndie gifts & novelty
Century AntiquesVintage & antique finds
Gemini HandmadeArtisan leather goods
🧴
Wellness & Beauty
2 locations
Fox NaturalsNatural skincare, made in GR
The Aroma LabsCustom scent studio
🍫
Specialty Foods
5 locations
Mokaya ChocolatesBean-to-bar chocolate from Ghana
The Cheese LadyArtisan cheeses & accompaniments
Martha's VineyardLocal wines & provisions
Fulton Street Farmers MarketOldest farmers market in GR
Downtown MarketLocal food hall
📚
Books, Music & Hobbies
6 locations
Vault of MidnightComics, games & pop culture
Blue Bridge GamesBoard games & hobby shop
Schuler BooksIndependent bookseller
Books & MortarNeighborhood bookshop
Black Dog Books & RecordsBooks, vinyl & curiosities
Cellar BirdRecords & rarities

How it works

Each participating business has an NFC tag displayed in their window or at their counter. Tap it with the same phone you used for your global passport. Your local stamp is added automatically — no purchase required.

The prize

Complete any ten local stamps across all five categories and earn your Grand Rapids Local Citizen. Prize details announced in partnership with participating businesses — check back closer to ArtPrize 2026.

🏆

Grand Rapids Local Citizen

Any 10 stamps · Any 5 categories · Complete at your own pace during ArtPrize 2026 · September 17–October 3

About
Media Lab
Midwest

Ritsu Katsumata and Aaron Sundman form a Grand Rapids-based creative technology collaborative whose work sits at the intersection of generative AI, human experience design, and civic engagement.

Co-Founder · Chief Experience Officer
Ritsu Katsumata

Japanese-American sound artist and experience designer. Carnegie Hall to CBGB's — scoring silent films, building immersive installations, designing human-centered digital experiences across Dentsu, Wieden+Kennedy, Cornell University, and Ford Motor Company.

Co-Founder · Chief Technology Officer
Aaron Sundman

Technology evangelist with 30 years in enterprise digital innovation. RFID Business Development Leader at CCL eAgile. Creator of PrismaLive AI platform.

Contact
Get in
touch.
Collaborativemedialabmidwest.com
Event Details
ArtPrize
2026
DatesSeptember 17 – October 3, 2026
LocationGrand Rapids, Michigan
VenueProposed — to be confirmed
AdmissionFree & open to the public