When Ann Loveless’s textile art piece was chosen to be displayed in the Gerald R. Ford Museum for
ArtPrize, she had no idea that there was a chance it’d be moved outside for the end of the
competition. Loveless’s work has been displayed in the federal museum before, and she had never
experienced a problem anything like this one.

“They were kind of talking about it, they kind of gave us a warning maybe three or four days ahead of
time, but I just figured, ‘Oh they’ll work it out and we won’t really have to go outside,’” Loveless said.

The artist, along with many others, received a call at 5 a.m. last Monday—when the decision was
officially made to shut down the federal government—that her art piece would have to be moved
outdoors due to the closure of the national museum.

This is the first time in the four years that ArtPrize has been put on that a venue has ever been closed
down in the middle of the competition.

Loveless’ work, titled ‘Sleeping Bear Dune Lake Shore,’ was voted to the top 10 of ArtPrize. Loveless
made a friendship with another artist, Anni Crouter, who also had a painting in the top 10 that was
displayed inside the Gerald R. Ford museum.

“We had to quick go into action and bring art fair awnings from Frankfurt, Mich., where I live,”
Loveless said. “The other artist, Anni, who was inside, her husband brought the panels, and we just
set up outside in about two hours.”

The two artists and officials from the museum worked together to keep the art available to the public
despite the shutdown. Two other artists also in the top 10 had to move their art outside of the
museum.

Ten more ArtPrize pieces were left inside the museum because they didn’t make the top 10, and they
are no longer viewable by the public due to the shutdown.

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