Coverage and Stories
Why is art no longer a part of our everyday lives? That’s one of the many questions Jody Hassett Sanchez tries to answer in her latest documentary, “More Art Upstairs.” Sanchez joins Midday Edition on Thursday to discuss the documentary. Listen here.
We had a terrific conversation with Mindy Todd of “The Point” on Cape Cod’s leading public radio station. You can listen to it here.
“Both sides of the art-appreciation spectrum are represented; though they don’t agree, they get a glimpse into the other’s point of view…You’ll be rooting for your favorites and perhaps examining your own preconceptions of what art is, what it does and whom it’s meant for.”
– Peter Keough, The Boston Globe (Full Review)
“More Art Upstairs is a well-made documentary about the internal dynamics of a peculiar art fair, and it’s worth seeing.”
“While ArtPrize and “More Art Upstairs” are undoubtedly thought-provoking, both also are just plain fun. Watching the film makes you feel like you, too, are visiting the show, taking in the work and making your own assessments, rooting for your favorites.”
— Cape Cod Times (Full review)
“What if there were an American Idol for visual artists, like painters and sculptors? That’s the idea behind this delightful and inspiring documentary … Sanchez introduces us to a handful of the contestants, then keeps them — and us — on pins and needles until the winners are announced.”
–Movies For the Rest of Us (Full Review)
“The charming, well-wrought film … falls squarely in the tradition of narratives that follow individual contestants as they compete for cash or prizes: countless reality shows in the mode of Survivor, documentaries like Hands on a Hard Body (1997), and contest-based mockumentaries like Best in Show (2000).”
— Garage/Vice (Full review)
“More Art Upstairs is an entertaining look at ArtPrize and the tensions between the two prizes, and of course the age-old divide between what excites curators and scholars with Masters degrees and PhDs and what appeals to Joe the Plumber.”
— The Film Stage (Full review)
“Supremely entertaining throughout and building genuine tension as the competition nears its conclusion, Sanchez has made a crowd pleasing film with More Art Upstairs, but one that also slyly asks the viewer to think critically about what they’re seeing.”
— Andrew Parker, Toronto Film Scene (Full Review)
“A thoughtful exploration of the big ideas .. it’s also an intimate glimpse into the personalities, work ethic and philosophies of a few artists, which is the kind of stuff that often gets lost.”
— MLive – Michigan Local News (Full review)
“Jody Hassett Sanchez’s doc takes a different, more appreciated tack, simply chronicling how ArtPrize has turned Grand Rapids into an unlikely cultural destination, and what the annual event means for those perhaps held back by the traditional arts gatekeepers.”
— The Globe and Mail (Full review)
“Supremely entertaining throughout and building genuine tension as the competition nears its conclusion, Sanchez has made a crowd pleasing film with More Art Upstairs, but one that also slyly asks the viewer to think critically about what they’re seeing.”
— Andrew Parker, Toronto Film Scene (Full review)
“Jody Hassett-Sanchez successfully evokes the tensions between art snobs – like the organizers seen almost rolling their eyes as the public votes roll in or the bitter losers bemoaning the results – and Joe and Jane Public, who tend to go for the pretty stuff.”
— Susan G. Cole, NOW (Full review)
“The film gave me a chance to revisit that memory. I reconnected, once again, to that unique experience. So unique that perhaps ArtPrize has unlocked something that connects more with me than anything currently offered in the Art world.”
— Jeffrey Augustine Songco, cultured.GR (Full review)