ArtPrize facts for kids

Quick facts for kids ArtPrize
Genre	Art Competition and Cultural Event
Date(s)	September 18-October 4, 2025
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Country	United States
Inaugurated	2009 (2009)
Controlling Entities	City of Grand Rapids, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., and Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University. Executive Director: Catlin Whitington
Filing status	501(c)(3)
Sponsor	https://www.artprize.org/sponsors

ArtPrize is a huge art competition and festival held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's a unique event where anyone over 18 can show their art. Also, any place in the three-square-mile ArtPrize area can become an art venue! This means you might see art in museums, galleries, restaurants, hotels, parks, or even laundromats.

The ArtPrize festival usually lasts for 19 days, starting in late September. During the event, a total of $500,000 in cash prizes is given out. These prizes are decided by both public votes and a special group of art experts called a jury.

ArtPrize started in 2009. It was created by Rick DeVos. The festival has grown to be very popular. In 2014, The Art Newspaper said ArtPrize was one of the most-attended art events. Over 440,000 people visited that year! The New York Times even suggested Grand Rapids as a great place to visit in 2016, partly because of ArtPrize.

In 2018, ArtPrize announced a new plan to hold the main event every other year. They also started a special exhibition called "Project 1" in 2019. The ArtPrize event planned for 2020 was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival returned in 2022.

How ArtPrize Works

Thousands of ArtPrize visitors gather in Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids.

ArtPrize was designed to be different from other art contests. Its main ideas were:

• Any artist from anywhere in the world could enter.
• Anyone with a building or space in downtown Grand Rapids could turn it into an art venue.
• Any visitor could vote for their favorite artwork.

The organizers didn't use special committees or curators to choose the art. At first, the biggest cash prize in the art world was given out only by public vote.

In 2010, ArtPrize added categories judged by art experts. By 2014, the awards were split into two equal parts: one for public votes and one for the expert jury.

ArtPrize 2009: The First Event

The very first ArtPrize happened in 2009. It covered a 3-square-mile area in downtown Grand Rapids. The event ran from September 21 to October 9, 2009.

• Over 1,200 artists showed their work.
• There were 159 different places (venues) to see art.
• About 200,000 people visited the event.
• More than 334,000 votes were cast by visitors.

Top Artworks of 2009

Open water no. 24 by Ran Ortner, ArtPrize 2009 Grand Prize winner

The public voted for their favorite artworks. The top prize of $250,000 went to Open Water no.24 by Ran Ortner. Other top artworks included:

• Imagine That! by Tracy Van Duinen
• Portraits by Eric Daigh
• The Grand Dance by David Lubbers
• Moose by Bill Secunda

ArtPrize 2010: New Features

The 2010 event took place from September 22 to October 10. A new idea was added: "Exhibition Centers." These were local cultural places that helped organize the event and featured professionally chosen art.

• More than 1,700 artists participated.
• There were 193 venues.
• Artists came from 21 countries and 44 U.S. states.
• About 250,000 people visited.

Winners of 2010

Lure / Wave Grand Rapids by Beili Liu

The public vote grand prize of $250,000 went to Cavalry, American Officers, 1921 by Chris LaPorte.

For the first time, there were also awards chosen by a jury of art experts. Some of these winners included:

• Two-Dimensional: Garden Party, Chez Hatfield by Andrew Lewis Doak and Adrian Clark Hatfield
• Three-Dimensional: XLoungeSeries by Mark Wentzel
• Time/Performance: The Jettisoned by Yoni Goldstein

ArtPrize 2011: Performance Art Focus

The 2011 event ran from September 21 to October 9. A big change was adding a special center just for performance art.

• Over 1,500 artists participated.
• There were 164 venues.
• About 322,000 people visited Grand Rapids for the event.

Top Artworks of 2011

The Metaphorist Project by Tracey Van Duinen

The public vote grand prize went to Crucifixion by Mia Tavonatti. Other popular pieces included:

• The Metaphorist Project by Tracy Van Duinen
• Rain by Lynda Cole
• President Gerald Ford Visits ArtPrize by Sunti Pichetchaiyakul

The jury awards also recognized many talented artists, with each winner receiving $7,000.

ArtPrize 2012: Bigger Prizes

The 2012 ArtPrize ran from September 19 to October 7. This year brought exciting changes to the jury awards. Category prizes increased to $20,000, and a new $100,000 Juried Grand Prize was introduced.

• Over 1,500 artists participated.
• There were 161 venues.
• About 375,000 people visited Grand Rapids.

Winners of 2012

Elephants by Adonna Khare, ArtPrize 2012 Public Vote Grand Prize Winner

The public vote grand prize of $200,000 went to Elephants by Adonna Khare.

The first-ever Juried Grand Prize of $100,000 was awarded to Displacement (13208 Klinger St.) by Design 99.

ArtPrize 2013: More Visitors

The 2013 ArtPrize competition ran from September 18 to October 6.

• Over 1,800 artists participated.
• There were 169 venues.
• About 400,000 people visited Grand Rapids.

Winners of 2013

The world's an untranslatable language II (for Charles Wright) by Charles Matson Lume, nominated to the Juried Award shortlist for Three-Dimensional work

The public vote grand prize of $200,000 went to Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore by Ann Loveless.

The Juried Grand Prize of $100,000 was awarded to Ecosystem by Carlos Bunga.

ArtPrize 2014: A Historic Tie

The 2014 ArtPrize competition ran from September 24 to October 12.

• Over 1,500 artists participated.
• There were 174 venues.
• Over 441,000 people visited Grand Rapids.

Winners of 2014

The public vote grand prize of $200,000 went to Intersections by Anila Quayyum Agha.

In a first for ArtPrize, the Juried Grand Prize had a tie! Two artworks shared the $200,000 prize, each receiving $100,000:

• Intersections by Anila Quayyum Agha
• The Hair Craft Project by Sonya Clark

This was also the first time both the public and the jury chose the same artwork, Intersections, for a top prize.

ArtPrize 2015: ArtPrize Seven

The 2015 ArtPrize ran from September 23 to October 11.

• Over 1,600 artists participated.
• There were 162 venues.
• Over 438,000 people visited Grand Rapids.

Winners of 2015

The public vote grand prize of $200,000 went to Northwood Awakening by Loveless Photofiber.

The Juried Grand Prize of $200,000 was awarded to Higher Ground by Kate Gilmore.

ArtPrize 2016: ArtPrize Eight

The 2016 ArtPrize competition took place from September 21 to October 9.

• Over 1,400 artists participated.
• There were 170 venues.
• Over 507,000 people visited Grand Rapids.

Winners of 2016

The public vote grand prize went to Wounded Warrior Dogs by James Mellick.

The Juried Grand Prize was awarded to The Bureau of Personal Belonging by Stacey Kirby.

ArtPrize 2017: ArtPrize Nine

The 2017 ArtPrize competition took place from September 20 to October 8.

• 

  'Red Dirt Rug Monument' by Rena Detrixhe
• Over 1,300 artists participated.
• There were 175 venues.
• Over 522,000 people visited Grand Rapids.

Winners of 2017

The public vote grand prize went to A. Lincoln by Richard Schlatter.

'Heartside Community Meal' by Seitu Jones

The Juried Grand Prize was awarded to The Heartside Community Meal by Seitu Jones.

'Oil + Water' by Ryan Spencer Reed & Richard App

ArtPrize 2018: ArtPrize 10

The 2018 ArtPrize competition ran from September 19 to October 7.

Winners of 2018

The public vote grand prize went to The String Project by Chelsea Nix and Mariano Cortez.

The Juried Grand Prize was awarded to Brown, Carmine, and Blue by Le'Andra LeSeur.

ArtPrize 2019: Project 1

In 2019, ArtPrize started a new series called "Project" exhibitions. Project 1: Crossed Lines ran from September 7 to October 27. This project featured large public art installations and community projects by artists from around the world and Grand Rapids.

ArtPrize 2021 Competition

The ArtPrize 2021 competition ran from September 16 to October 3.

Winners of 2021

The public vote grand prize went to Before You Go by Christian Reichle and Monica Pritchard.

The Juried Vote category winners included:

• Two-Dimensional: Aging Out / 18 years old by John Paul Goncalves
• Three-Dimensional: Soaked by Holly Ross
• Time-Based: Art pod by Stephen Smith
• Installation: Project Unity: Ten Miles of Track in One Day by Hwa-Jeen Na and Yuge Zhou

ArtPrize 2022 Competition

The ArtPrize 2022 competition ran from September 15 to October 2.

Winners of 2022

The Visitor Favorite Awards included:

• 2D Winner: In My Eyes by Florencia Clement de Grandprey
• 3D Winner: AMERICAN EAGLE by Kasey Wells
• Installation Winner: Twigg the Forest Dragon by Jennifer Dunahee
• Time-Based Winner: Embodied-Healing Through Body Art by Kristen Zamora
• Digital Winner: Urban Arterials by Rob Finch

The Juried Vote winners included:

• 2D Winner: For Dorothy Afro Harping by Harold Allen
• 3D Winner: LAST by Mo Jauw
• Installation Winner: Seeking a Pleasant Peninsula by Maddison Chaffer
• Time-Based Winner: Fusion
• Digital Winner: Derivations of a Gothic Arch Part 2 by Gary Mesa-Gaido

The Artist-to-Artist Award went to Creation, Destruction, Reflection by Brad and Bryan Caviness.

ArtPrize 2023 Competition

The ArtPrize 2023 competition ran from September 14 to October 1.

Winners of 2023

The Public Vote and Juried Vote Grand Prize winner was Raining Wisdom by Abdoulaye Conde.

Other Public Vote winners included:

• 2nd Place: Tale of Ten Dresses by Rebecca Humes
• 3rd Place: An Iris Collection of 5 by Peggy Slattery

The Juried Vote category winners included:

• 2D Winner: Mandy With Orchid by Stephen Brennan
• 3D Winner: The Lost Mystics by Kumkum Fernando
• Installation Winner: The Art of Disruption by DisArt and The Zone of Authenticity by Whitney Pyles
• Time-Based Winner: The Future is a Constant Wake by Aryel Jackson
• Digital Winner: Body-oddy-oddy-oddy: Destabilizing the Surveilling of Queer Bodies by Eric Souther and Benjamin Rosenthal

ArtPrize 2024 Competition

The ArtPrize 2024 competition ran from September 13 to September 28.

Winners of 2024

The Public Vote Grand Prize went to Dynamic Sunset by John Katerberg.

The Juried Vote Grand Prize was awarded to TRAUMA PROJECT by Trauma Project.

ArtPrize 2025: What's Next?

ArtPrize 2025 will be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is scheduled to take place from September 18 to October 4, 2025.