ArtPrize is a new open art competition that will take place from September 23 to October 8, 2009. Rick DeVos, an Amway heir, came up with the idea to host an art competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan with $500,000 dollars of prize money to be given away through a public voting process. Artists are matched with venues at the ArtPrize homepage. Voting will be via text messages and online through the website. The top ten artists will then enter a final competition for the prize money. Artist profiles are displayed on the website.
I first heard about ArtPrize at an opening in San Antonio this spring. It sounded intriguing so I emailed Steve Samson of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art (UICA) to see what it was all about. He said that I needed to submit my work online and then to secure a venue. I did both of those things. I will exhibit my work at the Old Federal Building in Grand Rapids.
It should be a fun time this fall in Michigan. For more information about ArtPrize or to join the competition yourself, please visit the homepage at http://www.artprize.org/
