Anila Quayyum Agha, Intersections, 2014 ArtPrize Juried Vote Grand Prize Winner, Popular Vote Grand Prize Winner.
Photo: courtesy ArtPrize.

ArtPrize, the quirky, democratic annual art competition that takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is back for its seventh year with some exciting new additions (see Hate Your Job? ArtPrize Seeks Education Manager). The event will take place from September 23–October 11, 2015.

This year’s iteration will feature a new $40,000 curatorial fellowship and a $30,000 grant program for local exhibition venues.

In keeping with previous years, two grand prizes will be awarded: a $200,000 Popular Vote Grand Prize, and a $200,000 Juried Grand Prize. Eight juried category awards, each worth $12,500 will also be named.

Grand prize and category jurors have yet to be announced. The 2014 jury was composed of Katharina Grosse, Leonardo Drew, and Susan Sollins.

ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos.
Photo: via Fast Company.

The competition has undergone several developments since its inception in 2009, including the birth of the juried prize in 2012. Ostensibly a move to lend more credibility to the oft-lambasted competition, the decision also spawned criticism that the famously “of the people” prize was losing its soul (see Is the Populist ArtPrize Becoming . . . Snobby?).

Last year, Anila Quayyum Agha took home the popular vote prize and split the juried prize with another artist, Sonya Clark, each walking away with half of the prize money (see An ArtPrize Surprise Lights the Way to a Better Art World).

The competition, which was founded by Rick DeVos and is funded by the DeVos family, also recently announced plans to partner with a Texas-based nonprofit to expand to Dallas in 2016 (see ArtPrize Heads South to Dallas in Spring 2016).

 ArtPrize will take place from September 23–October 11, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.