Perennial ArtPrize attendees have one more can’t-miss venue to add to their list: the Grand Rapids Downtown Market, where an intriguing piece titled “LA Rising” invites collaboration and reflection on one of this year’s most shocking events—the Los Angeles wildfires.
When wildfires scorched Los Angeles earlier this year, artist and two-time Olympian Roald Bradstock responded in the way he knows best — through art. Picking up charcoal and paper, he began creating something powerful, something layered with meaning.
But these weren’t just traditional tools of the trade. Charcoal — the remains of burned wood. Paper — made from trees. The very materials of destruction became the foundation of his work, a haunting yet hopeful reminder of nature’s resilience.
Now, that unfinished piece — a sweeping, 10-panel installation titled “LA Rising” — has landed in Grand Rapids for ArtPrize 2025, on view at the Downtown Market. And here’s the twist: Bradstock wants you to help complete it.
Each day from 1 to 6 p.m., the artist himself is on-site, inviting visitors to pick up a coloring tool and fill in one of the Olympic rings. It’s not just about making your mark on a massive public artwork. It’s about connection — a symbolic gesture from one community to another, ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“It’s not just about looking at the work,” Bradstock said. “But being part of history and sending a message from one community to another.”
Bradstock — who competed for Great Britain in track and field at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games — has since made a name for himself in the art world. Nicknamed the “Olympic Picasso,” he’s been part of several official Olympic art initiatives, and his work often explores the shared ground between athleticism, endurance, and creative expression.
“LA Rising” is part of The Olympism Exhibition, a traveling ArtPrize feature spotlighting artworks by Olympians who are also visual artists. It’s housed in the second-floor atrium of the Downtown Market — a light-filled space where visitors can browse, participate, and enjoy food and drink from local vendors all in one place.
“The Market is a great space, there’s so much great lighting here,” Bradstock said. “It’s very exciting to display a new genre of art and to be able to be here in person and interact with everyone.”
ArtPrize runs through Oct. 6, and Bradstock’s installation will remain on view — and open for collaboration — through the end of the competition. Whether you’re an art lover, a fan of the Olympics, or just curious, this is your chance to see something powerful in progress… and be part of its story.
