Experience ArtPrize, an Urban Art Adventure in Grand Rapids, MI

Early stages of Soul Box Project installation at the Atrium in Grand Rapids, MI

ArtPrize is an open, independently organized international art competition which takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It celebrates artists working in all mediums from anywhere in the world, and is open to any creative with an artwork to enter and a venue willing to host it.

This year, Soul Box Project is excited to be included among all the entries. This is a great way for us to increase awareness of the gunfire epidemic in the U.S., introduce the Soul Box Project to those who have yet to hear of our non-profit, and a possibility to raise funds for our organization.

$200,000 in Artists Grants

With the return of ArtPrize, they are bringing back a new suite of grant programs where $200,000 is being awarded directly to artists. Curatorial, Equity, Project, and Mural Grants, each target a specific realm of artwork for visitors to experience and invoke conversation about the work. The grants are intended to underwrite work that is intentional and focuses on diverse, innovative, challenging, and engaging themes.

ArtPrize announced that visitors to the 2021 event will find prizes throughout the event district and award them directly to the artists of their choosing. These include nearly 500 cash prizes totaling $150,000 and a slate of emotional response prizes – all of which, when awarded to an artist, influence their chances of taking home the $50,000 Grand Prize.

“Throughout the event’s history, ArtPrize has used technology to create opportunities for the public to engage with contemporary art on a massive scale. We’ve gone wide, and now we’re looking to make that interaction deeper, more meaningful,” said Craig Searer, ArtPrize executive director.

“This fall, ArtPrize will shift away from the traditional public vote into a new format that encourages visitors to go beyond simply ‘liking’ an artwork – giving them the opportunity to support artists financially when they award the prizes themselves, and opening up the possibility that more artists than ever before will take home a portion of the cash prizes,” continued Searer.

As visitors to ArtPrize 2021 explore the event, they will find QR codes around each venue. By scanning these codes with their smartphones, they will find prizes to award to ArtPrize artists.

Each time a visitor scans a prize code, they will have the chance of finding one of nearly 500 cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,500 each to award to any participating artist they choose. Visitors can also find non-monetary prizes to award to artists as a means of showing their appreciation.

Watch the ArtPrize 10 Year Retrospective Video here to see a vignette of highlights between 2009 and 2019.