ArtPrize announces voting change as registration soars

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The number of artists registered to participate in ArtPrize this year is back to pre-pandemic levels and there are more venues than there have been in the past seven years, the competition director said.

With registration for the massive art competition in Grand Rapids closed, 1,644 artists are signed up to exhibit their work across 1,152 entries. More than 180 venues have applied to host the pieces.

ArtPrize Executive Director Catlin Whitington said that increase is significant.

“Last year, we had about 140-some odd venues, and about 900-something artists presenting 700 works, so the numbers are up significantly from that. I think we’re looking at almost 80% increase in artists and a 30% to 40% increase in venues,” Whitington said.

The increase is due to several factors, Whitington believes, citing last year’s success.

“We had a good year last year, and I think people really realized that ArtPrize was re-establishing itself and kind of going back to some of its roots,” he said.

He also credited ArtPrize’s outreach efforts.

“We’ve been really spending the last year amplifying … the kind of mission and the value proposition for artists, as well as trying to really impress upon the venues here in town what it means to participate in ArtPrize and what the value is of that participation,” Whitington said.

He believes “intentional, direct outreach” to colleges and universities has attracted a significant number of young artists.

“The demographic of the artists that are showcasing their work has started to level out. In the past, we definitely saw that it was older artists that were more established. I think that there’s a lot more emerging and mid-career artists that are making really great work that are coming to showcase,” Whitington explained.

All those artists mean the competition will be fierce. The same amount of prize money as last year, about $400,000, will be awarded.

“I think that the competition is going to be really, well, it’s going to be competitive. Given the sheer quality of work that I’m seeing, I think that there will be a lot of friendly competition around it,” he said.

He said the process to distribute some $200,000 in grants supporting artists reflected that level of competition.

ArtPrize is tweaking how the voting process works this year, eliminating the “finalist” round and letting viewers vote on artwork from all artists for all 16 days.

“I think that’s also going to change the dynamic of how the audience, especially on the public vote side, engages with the artists because there will be more art in the competition for longer and I think that … we will definitely see some shifts throughout the event of where the public is voting and where people are going to.”

With more artists and more venues, Whitington expects more people to come enjoy ArtPrize.

“We’re definitely hoping and expecting more visitors,” he said.

This is the 15th year of ArtPrize, which runs from Sept. 13 to Sept. 28 this year. To learn more about the event, visit the ArtPrize website .

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