GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — ArtPrize announced Friday the 2020 dates for the return of the city-wide art competition, changes to the competitions and the conclusion of Project 1.
ArtPrize will return Sept. 16, 2020 and run until Oct. 4, 2020. In the lead up to ArtPrize 2020, more artists than ever before will receive grant funding to support their entries. Visitors will also find brand-new ways to participate in the event and connect with artists on their mobile devices.
“We’re looking ahead with anticipation to the return of the ArtPrize competition, and we’re excited for the ways 2020 will enhance the experience for both artists and visitors,” said Kevin Buist, ArtPrize Artistic Director. “Shifting the competition to a biennial cadence has allowed our team to collect comprehensive stakeholder input and develop new programs and features that we’ve been dreaming about but haven’t had the time or space to implement until now.”
Organizers say in the return of ArtPrize in 2020 there will be more focus placed on the public vote, the event will still award $250,000 to the winner public vote artist but plans to "pivot away" from juried prizes. There will also be an enhanced voting experience. The process of voting is being redesigned to support other forms of reactions and feedback "beyond a thumbs up." The app will also enable visitors give financial support directly to artists, and to ArtPrize programming that supports artists.
"This stuff doesn't come out of nowhere, these artists have to spend money to make these pieces and of course travel and shipping it all takes a lot," says Buist.
Last year, ArtPrize went from an annual event to a happened every other year downtown Grand Rapids. 2019 was the first year that ArtPrize didn't happen, but Project 1 did. It concludes Sunday, titled Crossed Lines and curated by Buist, the exhibition focused on five artists, enabling them to create multi-sited, interactive and community-oriented public artworks with a depth and scale not possible in the competition format. A broad range of performing arts events throughout the exhibition met the organization’s goal of reaching audiences underserved by ArtPrize.
On Saturday, Oct. 26, the ArtPrize organization invites the public to join them in celebrating the inaugural Project 1 exhibition, at the Project 1 Closing Celebration. The event will begin at 7 PM at the Listening Room at Studio Park. The Project 1 Exhibition Catalogue will be available to purchase at this event.
Find more information about ArtPrize and the 2020 event at artprize.org.
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