Grand Rapids' Successful ArtPrize coming to Dallas

All of us folks in Michigan have been ga-ga for many years about the amazing work and the social activity that takes place in late September in Grand Rapids at the $500,000 ArtPrize.

Guess what folks? The people in Dallas want an ArtPrize too. Texas artists take note ... this is an amazing opportunity to have your most fabulous work entered into this popular competition and a crack at the very BIG prize money.

From the Detroit News:

For a fee in the "middle-to-upper six figures," according to ArtPrize spokeswoman Jaenell Ott, the hugely successful Grand Rapids art festival is lending its name and expertise to create a lookalike festival in Dallas, set to debut in 2016.

ArtPrize Dallas will be a freestanding nonprofit, raising the $500,000 festival officials say they hope to give out in awards on its own. The original ArtPrize, initially funded by the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, will not be contributing.

Like the Grand Rapids original, ArtPrize Dallas will be a 19-day event, though it will take place in April, not late September. And it will harness public votes to award at least some of the prizes.

Among the resources ArtPrize officials will transfer to the Dallas operation is their suite of technology-based engagement tools for artists, venue registration, voter "activation" and management. They also will school their Dallas colleagues in event production, how to support artists, trademark licensing and other business matters.

City Hall is already on board. "ArtPrize Dallas will create a lasting impact on the culture of Dallas by engaging and nurturing future artists and promoting a meaningful discussion," said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings in a statement.

Votes: 0
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of Art Fair Insiders to add comments!

Join Art Fair Insiders

Comments

  • Here is my post about it: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/artprize-500-000-resu...

    AND -- Marc Sijan won one of the awards. I'm sure he wasn't standing there for 10 days ... but you can understand the popular appeal of his work.

    I was sorry that I didn't make it this year. I've been there every year but this one (Norm was having surgery and just couldn't justify leaving him in the hospital in Ft. Wayne to attend).

  • I didn't know that, Connie. I will have to go to the web site and check it out. I had heard that the quality level was much better than in years past. The world is taking this ArtPrize thing seriously, now. That's good to see. I was busy that week and couldn't make it to Grand Rapids. But next year....

  • I totally agree with you, Barry, on all of the above. It has to be large, it helps to be local, it helps if you can hang out and really work the crowd and know how to get your friends to show up to vote. It helps to have your work be something that people can understand. I believe, Barry, you are talking about the large fiber piece, the quilt of the Lake Michigan shore. 

    When I saw that piece I was only impressed with the size. Yes the technique was good, but not so imaginative, really. Whereas, this year's winner made me say "Wow!" I think if you are going to win $250,000 it should be a "wow", not just something you've seen before and made large.

    BUT -- this year's grand prize winner won BOTH the jurors vote and the popular vote. So an outsider can win, you don't have to be local. 

  • Here's the thing about winning the popularity contest. It so happens that I know the husband of the person who won the top prize a couple of years ago. The winners sell their votes. They mail post cards to their friends and patrons, getting them to vote. I think he said they mailed out 10,000 cards. They spent the whole week at their piece selling themselves. It's less about the actual piece and more about getting people to vote for you. That's why locals have a much better chance of winning some money than someone from out of town. And, the piece doesn't have to be that good. It just has to be large. I think the work that is judged by the so called experts is a much more legitimate winner.

  • What is very cool about it, Barrie, is that you and I would get to choose the prizewinners. This is a popular vote, not just New York curators calling the shots. Of course you have to be there in person to do the voting which keeps it legit.

  • Dallas certainly is a fitting venue for this kind of project. Texas is known for having all the BIG STUFF. I don't know how to approach this contest since I haven't yet conceived anything BILLBOARD-size. We'll see someday. WOOHOO!

  • ... or his politics

  • Rick Devos, the guy who came up with the concept should run for governor of Michigan. ArtPrize was a brilliant idea that made Grand Rapids thrive economically, when the rest of Michigan was in the dumpster. Having said that, there is no guarantee he would be elected based on the intelligence level of the average Michigan voter.

  • and here is another article from Forbes (just in case you didn't think this was a really big deal): http://www.forbes.com/sites/abinlot/2014/11/20/first-artprize-dalla...

    and another article in the Arts section of the Dallas news: http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/arts/11-21-14-artprize-dallas-201...

This reply was deleted.