What have you done to improve ArtPrize this year?
The goal is to change as little of the fundamentals as possible. We've done a few things to build out on the successes from last year. As a whole, it will change and improve through evolution because it's so distributed and there are so many communities involved. It will change in ways that we can't predict.

Last year there were two juried awards. This year, there will be at least four.
We're continuing to add reasons and incentives to join as an artist. The one big prize sends everyone in a particular direction. These awards are more specific. If you try to jury for the big prize, it gets really messy. Juried awards are supplements to the big prize.

Is ArtPrize more than a popularity contest?
Popularity is clearly a part of it, but it's not about the prize; it's about the conversation. To say that it is a popularity contest is an inherently bad thing, it doesn't make any sense to me. It was an attempt to do something new, and we did.

Last year, restaurants started running out of food and hotels had no more rooms to offer during ArtPrize.
It was weird. Every metric that we were trying to keep track of was three to five times bigger than we expected. The hoards that came downtown were not anticipated. We hoped for big numbers, but not that big. When I initially came up with the numbers, we thought it would be 20- to 35-year-olds, but it wasn't. Families with little kids got really involved, which was great.

Do you think the best piece of art won last year?
I'm not concerned with that. I think a great piece of art won. I think it reflected the city and it will be interesting to see what happens this year.

What's the single hardest thing you had to do in order to make ArtPrize happen?
Last year it was a lot of explaining of how it would work and this year it's not like that. We don't have to explain its potential this year. We are just trying to get people to think big.

Why did you choose ArtPrize and why Grand Rapids?
I love Grand Rapids and have always felt a connection to downtown. It's always been a part of my family's culture. I initially thought a film festival would be fun. It would need a ton of centralized planning, which doesn't sound fun, and film festivals are everywhere. Why not do something wacky and new? ArtPrize could have failed but luckily it didn't. It was a lot more fun than a film festival would have been.

You studied film. When you see ArtPrize entries, are you drawn to ones that include film?
There's not really one thing that catches my eye. The most peaceful time I spent studying was in London - every week I went to museums and galleries. My interests are not film-focused. I love work that fits into the space it's given. I love the relationship that develops between the artists and venues. I don't change that.

When we think of ArtPrize and controversial artists, and even those that get people talking the most, one name comes to mind: Rob Bliss.
I don't even need to wade into the middle of all that. But I support his passion and the things he's doing for the city of Grand Rapids.

How do you envision ArtPrize evolving, five or 10 years from now?
It's really impossible to say because it's really out of my control at a certain point and there are so many factors involved. It's like trying to guess what a field mouse would be like in a thousand years.

What do you hope for it to be?
I would want it to continue to learn from itself and shift the culture of West Michigan and shift people's thoughts on what they can do in their city. I'm interested in empowering people to be creators and support creators. If we can do that, the better off our region will be. I really want to see that culture shift and how it can manifest.

What is your typical day like during ArtPrize?
There's certainly not a typical day during ArtPrize. I work downtown and I spend most days down here meeting with the ArtPrize team, discussing aspects of the event.

And when ArtPrize is over?
If I'm lucky and I have the time I fly my helicopter and ride my motorcycle. And if it's nice, I'm on a boat.

In West Michigan, comedy was a pretty hot item. That was before television had ‘Last Comic Standing' and all the comedy channels and the different comedy shows. For a long time in the ‘90s, I was ranked in the top 10 comedy clubs in America, and that was amazing. A&E actually came in and did a story about us that we were one of the only comedy clubs that survived in an under 150,000 population.

Yes, it truly was. Because when you get to a bigger town like Lansing or Grand Rapids, there are a lot more people to draw from, and it's easier to survive. In a small town like Battle Creek, all the comics went away in the ‘90s.

Well, a long story short, I did a term paper on humor and comedy, and my English teacher reluctantly gave me a B on it and he told me in front of the whole class my humor in comedy would never get me anywhere. So that was kind of my catalyst.

I try not to be corny, but I know sometimes [my sense of humor] is. I'm a joker. I like jokes, and I can remember every joke that I was ever told as a child. And I love to tell a good joke. Most comedians are observational.

Oh no, I love new stuff.

Bill Cosby.

He's very clean, very clever, and he speaks of everyday occurrences. Everyone can relate to what he's saying.

Every week, we're at Firekeepers, where we do two free shows, and it's a great place to be because there's a lot of excitement there and we bring in all the national acts that I book from the Funny Business Agency.

They're really professional. They run a pretty tight ship, and they're just nice people — very friendly. Like I said, it's really nice to work with a professional group.

Well, for me, it's kind of put me into semi-retirement because I actually do the shows and they take care of everything else. I do have to take care of the comedians in terms of their transportation and housing needs, so basically, I get to enjoy the show when I'm there.

Oh truly. I have one day a week there, and I still do one weekend a month at the Red Ball Joint.

I've got a lot of hobbies. I have a boat and a street rod; I've been able to catch up on a few things, workin' on my guitar playin'. Also, I'm a hypnotist, so I've been working on that. Want me to hypnotize you?

I've been working on my hypnotist show. Everybody says ‘Why would you want to be a hypnotist,' so I said, ‘Well, I put people to sleep when I talk to them anyway, might as well get paid for it.' And that's my line, and that's what I use.

Sometimes I would, I think about it, but I really enjoy this part of my life now. I get my comedy fix without all the hassle.

Yes. It's a lot of fun this way.

Dave Engbers: The truth is, there honestly wasn't a lot of craft beer prior to Founders other than Kalamazoo Brewing Company, which is now Bell's Brewing Company.

Mike Stevens: I think in Grand Rapids, prior to the Nineties, there was a lot of fizzy beer in town.

Mike: Other than your typical drinking in college, there was no serious background in our family history. We don't come from a long lineage of brew masters. We were both good friends in college and both home brewing, and that's kind of what piqued our interest. From there, the brewing hobby kind of transformed into a career and we went from there. It was a perfect combination: A couple of friends, a couple of home brewers and no concern for where the future lies.

Mike: Probably when we were also faced with the worst disaster — bankruptcy, or contemplating bankruptcy. From that contemplation came a lot of good thought, and that's when we really transformed our flavor profiles. Dave and I actively said, ‘If we're goin' down, let's make beers that we're really proud of.' From that came all the crazy beers everyone knows us for.

Dave: Essentially, we were trying to please the public by dumbing down beers. We said, ‘Why don't we start brewing beers that we like to drink,' and once we decided to become aggressive, we realized that there were a lot of breweries brewing the same style of beer, and no one was stepping outside and saying ‘Let's challenge people's taste buds.'

Dave: Our beers were always well-balanced, but unremarkable.

Dave: Initially, yes. They were just generic.

Mike: We didn't have anything unique standing off the shelf. When we retooled and reinvented ourselves, we came to the retail outlets with product that no one else had presented. It allowed us shelf space without having to fight 12 other breweries to get it.

Mike: For me, I think what's interesting about the industry is the product is a source of fun and entertainment for most people. So it's a while different element than if you're just making Fenders, or just some other widget. We're actually crafting something that is, for most of us, a source of great joy. So the following you have is part of their weekend, it's what makes them happy.

Mike: Who doesn't want a great weekend? We're crafting a better weekend.

Dave: We do produce a product, but we're a very emotional, social product that people talk about. When you're at the grocery store, people look at what beer you have in your shopping cart. It makes an impact, and it's great to be a part of the community.

Dave: 500 barrels.

Dave: We're on track for 28,000 barrels.

Mike: Yeah, especially in the last two years.

Dave: Our largest growth has happened in the last 28 months. When we left the old location, we were doing 5,000 barrels, so we're almost six times the volume in two and a half short years.

Dave: The beers really are kind of like kids. You don't necessarily have a favorite, but it depends on your activity, time of day, or what you're eating. For every occasion, there's a different beer. Red's Rye is my lunch beer, and at the end of the day, it's big, hoppy Double Trouble.

Mike: If I'm to look at our specialty beers, I might pick Curmudgeon. If it were an everyday beer, it would be somewhere between Red's Rye, or Centennial IPA.

Mike: Drink a few beers and start throwing things out on the table. You've got to lubricate the mind a little bit.