ArtPrize is an art competition and festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anyone over the age of 18 can display their art, and any space within the three-square-mile ArtPrize district can be a venue. There are typically over 160 venues, including museums, galleries, bars, restaurants, hotels, public parks, bridges, laundromats, auto body shops, and more.
ArtPrize lasts for 19 days beginning in late September, and during each festival $500,000 in cash prizes are awarded based on public voting and a jury of art experts.
ArtPrize was created in 2009 by Rick DeVos, the son of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. In 2017, the festival's connection to the DeVos family's wealth and their conservative politics was criticized by artist Eric Millikin in his “Made of Money” installation, placed within ArtPrize.
In 2014, The Art Newspaper listed ArtPrize as one of the most-attended "big ticket" art events (those where visitors are often counted more than once), with ArtPrize's attendance of 440,000 being roughly one quarter of the 1.6 million who attended the Russian Imperial Costume exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. ArtPrize was highlighted along with Slows Bar BQ and the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park as one of the reasons to visit Grand Rapids in The New York Times’ "52 Places To Go in 2016."
In 2018, ArtPrize announced the Project exhibition to showcase larger works and planned to hold ArtPrize every other year, though the Project 1 event in 2019 experienced substantially fewer visitors. The twelfth ArtPrize was postponed in 2020 with officials citing the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 event ran from September 15 to October 2, 2022, with many visitors criticizing the smaller scale of the works on display.
Concept
ArtPrize was conceived as an unconventional art contest with the following goals: any artist in the world could compete; anyone with property in downtown Grand Rapids could turn their space into a venue; and any visitor could vote for their favorite artwork. Event organizers would provide no selection committees or curators. And the largest cash prize in the art world would be awarded entirely by popular vote.
At the inaugural ArtPrize, held in 2009, the winners were determined solely by the public, who voted via mobile devices and the ArtPrize website. In 2010, ArtPrize added categories judged by art experts, and in 2014 restructured the awards format bringing two parallel tracks of public vote and juried awards with equal prize amounts.
2009 competition The 2009 exhibition took place over a area of downtown Grand Rapids, from September 21 to October 9, 2009. 1,262 artists or artist collaboratives displayed their work in 159 venues. An estimated 200,000 attendees visited the event, with 334,219 total votes cast throughout the 19 days.
Participation ArtPrize 2009 official participation numbers: 1,262 artist entries 159 venues 37,264 registered voters 334,219 total votes cast 200,000 (est.) visitors to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Public Vote Awards The 2009 prizes, totaling to $449,000, were: 1st place: $250,000 2nd: $100,000 3rd: $50,000 4th through 10th: $7,000 each
Public Vote Top 10 On October 1, the top 10 entries were announced, and their ranking was announced October 8: Open Water no.24 – Ran Ortner (displayed at The Old Federal Building) Imagine That! – Tracy Van Duinen (displayed at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum) Portraits – Eric Daigh (displayed at The Old Federal Building) The Grand Dance – David Lubbers (displayed on the Grand River near the Blue Bridge) Moose – Bill Secunda (displayed at The B.O.B.) Nessie on the Grand – The Nessie Project (displayed on the Grand River near the Blue Bridge) Field of Reeds – John Douglas Powers (displayed at The Old Federal Building) The Furniture City Sets the Table for the World of Art – Sarah Grant (displayed on the Blue Bridge) Ecstasy of The Scarlet Empress – Jason Hackenwerth (displayed at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA)) winddancer 2 – Michael Westra (displayed on the Blue Bridge)
Surprise Awards Two previously unannounced awards were handed out: Curators Choice Award ($5000): salt & earth – Young Kim, Winston-Salem, N.C. Sustainability Award ($2500): The Image Mill: Sustainable Cinema #1 by Scott Hessels
2010 competition The 2010 event took place from September 22 to October 10. The event introduced "Exhibition Centers," local cultural institutions featuring professional curation. Each ArtPrize Exhibition Center was required to host voter registration/activation as well as a retail presence. ArtPrize sought to have at least one Exhibition Center in each downtown Grand Rapids neighborhood.
Participation
ArtPrize 2010 official participation numbers:
1,713 artist entries 193 venues 21 countries and 44 U.S. states 44,912 registered voters 465,538 votes cast 250,000 (est.) visitors to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Public Vote Awards The 2010 prizes, which were decided by public vote, totaled $449,000 were: 1st place: $250,000 2nd: $100,000 3rd: $50,000 4th through 10th: $7,000 each
Public Vote Top 10 On September 30, the 2010 Top 10 entries were announced, and their rankings were revealed during the Winners Announcement on October 7:
Cavalry, American Officers, 1921 – Chris LaPorte, Grand Rapids, Michigan Svelata – Mia Tavonatti, Santa Ana, California Lure/Wave, Grand Rapids – Beili Liu, Austin, Texas A Matter Of Time – Paul Baliker, Palm Coast, Florida Vision – David Spriggs, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Helping mom one penny at a time – Wander Martich, Grand Rapids, Michigan Dancing With Lions – Bill Secunda, Butler, Pennsylvania salt & earth (garden for Patricia) – Young Kim, Winston-Salem, North Carolina SteamPig – The Steam Pig Experiment Birks, Jensen, Grand Rapids, Michigan Elephant Walk – Fredrick Prescott, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Juried Awards Event organizers announced the addition of four juried awards for ArtPrize 2010. Event organizers noted that, depending on sponsor availability, more juried awards might be added to the program.
Categories and winners Two-Dimensional: Garden Party, Chez Hatfield – Andrew Lewis Doak and Adrian Clark Hatfield, Royal Oak, Michigan Three-Dimensional: XLoungeSeries – Mark Wentzel, Atlanta, Georgia Time/Performance: The Jettisoned – Yoni Goldstein, Chicago, Illinois Urban Space: Plan B – Rick Beerhorst and Rose Beerhorst, Andre Beaumont and Mike Hoyte, Grand Rapids, Michigan International: Evaporative Buildings – Alex Schweder La, Berlin, Germany / New York, New York Sustainability: A Matter Of Time – Paul Baliker, Palm Coast, Florida
Jurors Award Juror Title Two-Dimensional Work Patricia Phillips Dean of Graduate Studies for the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Three-Dimensional Work Xenia Kalpaktsoglou Curator and co-director of the Athens Biennale Time/Performance-Based Work Judith Barry Director of the MFA program at the Art Institute of Boston Use of Urban Space Jeff Speck city planner, architectural designer, author and former Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts
2011 competition The 2011 event ran from September 21 to October 9. The biggest change to the competition was the addition of an exhibition center dedicated to performance art—St. Cecilia Music Society. The organization was also the recipient of a $100,000 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Participation
ArtPrize 2011 official participation numbers:
1,582 artist entries 164 venues 39 countries and 43 U.S. states 38,811 registered voters 383,106 votes placed 322,000 visitors to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Public Vote Awards The 2011 prizes, which were decided by public vote, totaled $449,000, were: 1st place: $250,000 2nd: $100,000 3rd: $50,000 4th through 10th: $7,000 each
Public Vote Top 10 On September 30, the 2010 Top 10 entries were announced, and their rankings were revealed during the Winners Announcement on October 6:
Crucifixion – Mia Tavonatti, Santa Ana, California The Metaphorist Project – Tracy Van Duinen, Chicago, Illinois Rain – Lynda Cole, Ann Arbor, Michigan President Gerald Ford Visits ArtPrize – Sunti Pichetchaiyakul, Thailand and Montana Rusty: A Sense of Direction/Self Portrait – Ritch Branstrom, Rapid River, Michigan Grizzlies on the Ford – Llew “Doc” Tilma, Wayland, Michigan The Tempest II – Laura Alexander, Columbus, Ohio Ocean Exodus – Paul Baliker, Palm Coast, Florida Under Construction – Robert Shangle, Grand Rapids, Michigan Mantis Dreaming" – Bill Secunda, Butler, Pennsylvania
Juried Awards In addition to awards determined by public vote, the organization presented seven juried awards at ArtPrize 2011. An award dedicated to an outstanding venue was added in 2011. Each juried award winner received $7,000.
Categories and winners Two-Dimensional: One Ordinary Day of an Ordinary Town – Mimi Kato, St. Louis, Missouri Three-Dimensional: Nature Preserve – Michelle Brody, New York, New York Time/Performance: Remember:Replay:Repeat – Caroline Young, Chicago, Illinois Urban Space: Salvaged Landscape – Catie Newell, Detroit, Michigan International: DISAPPEARANCES – an eternal journey – Shinji Turner-Yamamoto, Cincinnati, Ohio Venue: SiTE:LAB – Curator: Paul Amenta, Grand Rapids, Michigan Sustainability: Walking Home: stories from the desert to the Great Lakes – Laura Milkins, Tucson, Arizona Ox-Bow Residency: Progressive Movement(s) – Evertt Beidler, Portland, Oregon
Jurors Award Juror Title Two-Dimensional Work Anne Ellegood Senior Curator, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, California Three-Dimensional Work Glenn Harper Editor-in-Chief, Sculpture magazine Time/Performance-Based Work Kathleen Forde Curator of Time-Based Arts at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) in Troy, N.Y. Use of Urban Space Reed Kroloff Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum International Award Nuit Banai Art historian and critic, Tufts University Sustainability Award Susan Lyons Principal of Susan Lyons Designs Outstanding Venue Reed Kroloff Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
2012 competition The 2012 ArtPrize competition ran from September 19 to October 7. The event introduced new changes to the ArtPrize Juried Awards program, including category prizes valued at $20,000 (up from $7,000) and a first-ever $100,000 Juried Grand Prize, decided by a panel of three art experts.
Participation ArtPrize 2012 official participation numbers:
1,517 artist entries 161 venues 46 countries, 41 U.S. states and territories 47,160 voters 412,560 votes placed 375,000 (est.) visitors to Grand Rapids in 19 days
Public Vote Awards The 2012 prizes, which were decided by public vote, totaled $360,000 were: 1st place: $200,000 2nd: $75,000 3rd: $50,000 4th through 10th: $5,000 each
Public Vote Top 10 The top 10 entries were determined by a record 412,560 votes, and announced on October 10. Elephants – Adonna Khare, Burbank, Calif. Song of Lift – Martijn van Wagtendonk, Colbert, Ga. Rebirth of Spring – Frits Hoendervanger, Detroit, Mich. Stick-to-it-ive-ness: Unwavering pertinacity; perseverance – Richard Morse, Fennville, Mich. Lights in the Night – Mark Carpenter and Dan Johnson, Grand Rapids, Mich. Life in Wood – Dan Heffron, Traverse City, Mich. Origami – Kumi Yamashita, Brooklyn, N.Y. The Chase – Artistry of Wildlife, Marlette, Mich. Return to Eden – Sandra Bryant, Lynden, Wa. City Band – Chris LaPorte, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Juried Awards In addition to awards determined by public vote, the organization awarded seven juried awards totaling $200,000 during ArtPrize 2012 across five categories and a juried grand prize. Each category winner received $20,000. The Juried Grand Prize winner was awarded $100,000. The award was decided by a three-member jury panel.
Juried Grand Prize winner