Meet an Artist of Artprize

Edwin Anderson is an artist based in Grand Rapids, MI.

Check out Edwin’s mural piece seen to the right at 359 Division Ave S, Grand Rapids, MI 49503!

What do you love about art?

Storytelling, beautification, the value it brings, and the lives it can impact and create change.

How did you become an artist?

I’ve always been an artist most of my life. Growing, learning, sharpening my craft & creativity and continuing higher education to further understand the art culture. As an artist you are also an entrepreneur, which means you are self employed, which also means you either have to find opportunities for work or create opportunities for work. An example of finding opportunities is that there was an artist call looking for artists to create artwork on boarded up walls. This was a paid opportunity and it helps create exposure for you as an artist. I created some work and shared my work online. I received a lot of positive feedback from many people in the community. which then, lead to new opportunities of work from potential clients reaching out to you to do more work with your services. Over time as I continued my path as an artist I created many opportunities of work for myself and those would sometimes lead to new jobs. There’s a lot I’d like to share but I will say as a tip for any artist who’s interested. It’s very important to know business or to have some fundamental understanding of business practice. It will help you in the long run when working as a freelancer or establishing your own business someday.

Where do you find inspiration for new work?

My constant hunger for knowledge and education. As I continue to learn and further my education throughout life. I tend to find new inspiration because of the new information and so I want to tell those stories and information through my form of art.

What is your dream project?

My dream job is to have my own art and culture lounge that brings in many different artistic history, styles, and culture from all over the world. Allow it to have many different forms of art present whether it be performance arts, literature arts, fine arts, musical arts, and more.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be an artist?

My advice would be to always keep fueling your creative tank. Everyone has the capacity to be creative, it’s just that some people nurture their creativity a little bit more than others. Because of this, those individuals are usually known to be very creative and talented. So, find ways to always keep creating things. Remember we’re problem solvers and creative thinking is our talent and strength.

Last, if you had a superpower, which one would you want?

My Super Power of choice would be “Teleportation.” I think this would be awesome because then I can instantaneously arrive anywhere I want to be without having to drive all the time! You’ll never be late for work, a meeting, or meeting up with friends to hang. It would be much easier to travel the world and experience new places. And if you were ever to be in danger you could always teleport right back home to be safe! Need Image