ArtPrize

ArtPrize 2024 in Review

ArtPrize organizers update and tweak the event every year, so no two ArtPrizes are alike (and the art is always all-new, of course). In 2024, visitors thrilled to a lavish new opening ceremony featuring three separate participatory parades, a dramatic fireworks display and the visual spectacle of a massive, 35-foot illuminated puppet scaling the outside of the 29-story Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

There was also a new “halftime” event, new ticketed events, a new ArtPrize Clubhouse and a new boundary, expanding to include Uptown Grand Rapids as well as the usual downtown area to create a four-square-mile zone of creativity and wonder.

ArtPrize isn’t just a giant art gallery, it’s also a competition in which visitors vote for their favorite pieces to win cash prizes. (ArtPrize has awarded millions of dollars in prize money over the years.) A new voting process was implemented in 2024, enabling visitors to vote for any piece of art throughout the event, instead of selecting from a round of finalists in the second half of the year, as was the custom in years past. For the first time, the public could also select a winner in each of five categories.

As always, a separate panel of art critics, curators, educators and gallerists also picked their favorites.

ArtPrize 2024 marked a huge uptick in public participation and enthusiasm, with more than 93,000 votes cast across 14 days. And the winners were:

$125,000 Public Grand Prize: John Katerberg’s Dynamic Sunset, a colorful oil-and-acrylic painting of a sunset over Lake Michigan.

$10,000 Public Prize in each category:

• 2D: Robert VanZee, The Prophets
• 3D: Bruce Gorsline, Tut’s Tomb
• Installation: Shirin Abedinirad, Reflective Journey
• New Media: Bruce Holwerda, Too Much Information
• Time-Based: Endlesswell, My Poem Your Topic

$50,000 Juried Award: 106 Gallery, The Trauma Project

$10,000 Juried Award in each category:

• 2D: Jon Harris, Remember Who You Are
• 3D: H. Highwater, 
  Old Stories
• Installation: Samuelle Green, Marshmallow Polypore Variant
• New Media: Stafford Smith, Me So Calgon
• Time-Based: Endlesswill, My Poem Your Topic
• Design: Common Object Studio, Understory

$15,000 Juried Visibility Award in each category recognizing artists from underserved communities:

• Pat ApPaul, Sovereign
• Ruth Crowe, The Journal Project
• Isabel Dowell, What Does It Mean To Be Queer
• TheArtSchoolDropout, 456: Reflection on Fatherhood
• Chris Pappan, Fragments of Anima 1 & 2 (diptych)

$10,000 Artist to Artist Award selected by the artists themselves: Andrés Bustamante, Palabras De Esperanza - Words of Hope, a large-scale aluminum composite metal sculpture inviting viewer interaction.

$10,000 Outstanding Venue Award for both ArtRat Gallery and En Vivo Church.

Congratulations to the winners – and all the other artists, entertainers, educators, volunteers and visitors who made ArtPrize 2024 special. 

We hope to see you in Grand Rapids in 2025 for another round of amazing art, unforgettable experiences and vibrant creative energy!

Explore 1 of America’s Best Towns to Visit

CNN named Grand Rapids 1 of America’s 10 Best Towns to Visit in 2024 – and ArtPrize is an ideal time to see why. In addition to the “creative energy” exemplified by ArtPrize, CNN praised the city’s inventive dining scene, thriving beer community, easy access to culture and family-friendly recreation. You can experience all of these within the ArtPrize district, which encompasses 200+ restaurants, 11 breweries, five museums and walking/running/biking trails along one of Michigan’s best fishing rivers.

ArtPrize: See what others experienced