ArtPrize Blog
February 11th, 2011
Officials of ArtPrize, a radically open art competition giving away the world’s largest art prize, has announced 2011 registration dates for venues and artists, and special dates for submitting art to be installed in the Grand River. ArtPrize 2011 will run from Sept. 21 through Oct. 9.
“The artist and venue registration process was developed during the last two years based on feedback provided from artists, venues, city hall and ArtPrize visitors,” said Rick DeVos, ArtPrize founder.
Key dates for ArtPrize 2011 include:
Venue Registration
Open: Monday, March 14, 2011
Close: Thursday April 14 (5 p.m. EDT)
Artist Registration
Open: Monday, April 18
Close: Thursday, June 16 (5 p.m. EDT)
Artist/Venue Matching
Open: Tuesday, May 31
Close: Thursday, June 30 (5 p.m. EDT)
“A lot of the most memorable work in the event is created for a specific space,” said ArtPrize Executive Director Bill Holsinger-Robinson. “Artists will know all the venues available as they register.” Holsinger-Robinson cautions artists, “The vast majority of artists who did not secure a venue in 2010 were the ones who signed up at the last minute. Register early.”
Any art proposed for installation in the Grand River, which runs through the heart of the three square-mile ArtPrize district, must be submitted to the city of Grand Rapids and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) according to the following schedule.
Pre-application filed with the City: Monday, March 28, 2011
Application filed with the DNRE: Friday, April 8
(The DNRE will process the application using the following steps)
- Public notice period begins: Friday, April 22
- Public notice period ends: Friday, May 13
- Public hearing, if requested: Friday, June 10
- Required time for comments: Monday, June 20
Permit Decision: Wednesday, June 29
“This process allows the City to review proposed work to ensure that there is artistic quality and structural integrity to the proposed installations,” said José Reyna Fiscal Services Manager for the city of Grand Rapids. “The DNRE application will review the proposed installations in the context of environmental, structural and navigability impact on the river.”
As in 2010, ArtPrize will partner with institutions like the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts and others to form large neighborhood destinations where visitors can launch into surrounding venues. These Exhibition Centers will be professionally managed and bring a minimum of 25 installations to one site and serve as a launchpad into the surrounding neighborhood. Each will offer voter registration, an ArtPrize gift shop, and the ArtPrize shuttle stops at each. Exact locations of the Exhibition Centers are still being determined.
ArtPrize has invited thousands of artists worldwide to register for ArtPrize 2011, which will award the world’s largest cash prize for art totaling $484,000. Prizes include: First place – $250,000, second place $100,000, third place $50,000, fourth through tenth places $7,000 each, and five juried awards at $7,000 each.
In ArtPrize 2010, Chris LaPorte of Grand Rapids, Mich. captured the top prize of $250,000 for his work Cavalry, American Officers, 1921. In ArtPrize 2009, Ran Ortner of Brooklyn, N.Y. captured the top prize of $250,000 for his work Open Water No. 24.
About ArtPrize
ArtPrize is a radically open competition which has no formal jury, curator or judge, and asks the public to vote and decide the winners using mobile devices and the Web. In ArtPrize 2010, more than 1,700 artists from all over the world participated in the unprecedented competition that awarded nearly $500,000 to the prize winners. More than 465,000 votes were cast during the 19-day event. For more information about ArtPrize visit http://artprize.org.
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June 17th, 2010
***TODAY AT 5:00PM EDT ARTIST REGISTRATION CLOSES FOR ARTPRIZE 2010***
Important information on collaborators is below.
Painting of squid by Meg Perec from ArtPrize 2009. Photo by JohnE777 on flickr.com
To be registered you must:
- Complete a personal profile
- Complete an entry proposal
- Pay the $50 registration fee (nonrefundable)
Register now for ArtPrize 2010.
A receipt will be emailed to you after you pay the $50 fee. Please, keep this receipt for your records.
After registration closes, artists have until July 1 to secure a venue.
Artists must secure a venue to participate in the ArtPrize event. Learn more about securing a venue.
Will I appear on the list of artists when I register?
When you register, you will appear on a list of artists that only venues can see. Once you secure a venue, you are officially in the 2010 event and will appear on this list.
Collaborators
All collaborators must be registered by June 17. Each collaborator must be added under the entry, and a $25 fee must be paid for each one added.
In the case of a winning entry, ArtPrize only recognizes the artist who submitted the entry and registered collaborators under that entry as stakeholders in prizes and copyright.
June 11th, 2010
This Thursday, June 17, at 5:00PM EDT, artist registration for ArtPrize 2010 will close.
To be registered as an artist, you must
- Complete a personal profile
- Complete an entry proposal
- Pay the $50 registration fee
Register now for ArtPrize 2010.
Registering for ArtPrize does not guarantee an artist a venue at the event. Each artist must secure a venue, and artists are securing venues from now until July 1.
Learn more about securing a venues or view artists that have currently secured venues for 2010.
What about collaborators?
No collaborators can be registered after June 17. Each collaborator must be added under the entry, and a $25 fee must be paid for each one added.
In the case of a winning entry, ArtPrize will only recognize the artist who submitted the entry and registered collaborators under that entry as stakeholders in prizes and copyright.
May 18th, 2010
***ARTIST REGISTRATION EXTENDED TO JUNE 17, 2010***
Press release follows:
ARTPRIZE EXTENDS 2010 ARTIST REGISTRATION
With More Competition, Venues Ask for More Time to Build Exhibitions
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – May 18, 2010 – While more than 1,000 artists have already begun their registration process to enroll in ArtPrize 2010, several of the more than 220 venues have reported that increased competition for artists has already begun for the 2010 event, and asked ArtPrize organizers to extend the artist registration deadline. ArtPrize officially announced that the artist registration date will be extended from May 27 to the new deadline of June 17, 2010. The matching period between the artist and venue will remain the same as published between June 1 and July 1, 2010.
“There is a huge demand for art this year,” said Bill Holsinger-Robinson, ArtPrize, Executive Director. “We’ve heard that many artists have informal agreements with venues already in place.” ArtPrize has gone from 159 to more than 220 venues. Many of the venues from 2009 have plans to increase the artists they’ll show.
“We showed maybe six or seven artists last year,” says Linda Lafontsee of Lafontsee Galleries, “We plan to fill the gallery with up to 40 artists this year.”
In addition, ArtPrize is seeing a number of curators who have been engaged by venues, such as the Blue Bridge and the Monroe Promenade. These curators bring their own network of artists that they would like more time communicating with.
“There is real competition for art happening, which is great for artists, but stressful for venues,” said Holsinger-Robinson. “The artists and venues want the opportunity to put on an even better show, they need a bit more time to help these new relationships take hold.”
- The new deadline for artist registration is June 17, 2010
- Artists have three weeks left to register
- The matching period will still begin on artprize.org June 1
- The matching period will still end Thursday, July 1
- Between June 17 (end of registration) and July 1 (end of matching) is two weeks for artists and venues to wrap up their agreements and secure each other on artprize.org
April 19th, 2010
Artist registration began today for ArtPrize 2010. With over 200 venues to choose from, there should be room for a lot this year.
UPDATE: ARTPRIZE EXTENDED ARTIST REGISTRATION, READ HERE
ARTISTS HAVE UNTIL 5:00PM EDT THURSDAY, JUNE 17, TO REGISTER
For those of you who recall 2009, ArtPrize will not publicly display registered artists until they secure a venue. Since the matching period when artists and venues secure each other will not begin until June 1, that means the general public will not see any artists until then. Only venues will be able to see the full list of registered artists. We do this for simplicity, so the public is not confused between artists that will be in the invent, and those that will not. It’s also more discreet for artists that never secure a venue.
Artists, be sure you know…
ArtPrize ends venue registration before artist registration begins, so that artists have a complete picture of where they can work. Feel free to contact venues over the next six weeks–many of you already have–to discuss what the venue is looking for and what you have planned.
Starting June 1st, you can officially secure a venue through artprize.org.
As you may know, there are the Exhibition Centers that will be large spaces curated by regional institutions. You can expect competition for those spaces to be intense. However, do not forget the lessons of Young Kim from 2009: a hidden but well-executed piece can capture public attention and become instantly popular. ArtPrize will be brainstorming ways for some “treasure hunters” that emerged in 2009 to get buzz growing earlier about significant pieces.
For now, get registered and have fun thinking up what you’ll bring.
January 28th, 2010
If you were a part of registering for ArtPrize 2009 and part of the “matching” process between artists and venues (think matchmaker.com, but with artists looking for space to exhibit), you’ll notice a few changes this year. Based on feedback from artists and venues regarding the 2009 event, we’ve changed registration and matching for 2010.
In 2009, artists and venues registered simultaneously. During registration, we even opened up matching. This created some confusion and angst. Many artists wanted to base their work on a specific space, but new venues were signing up all the time. Venues wanted to know all of the artists registered before planning their show, but artists were securing venues as new ones signed up each day. Urgency for artists and venues to rush through planning was part of the first year experiment. However, it doesn’t need to be part of the future.
In 2010, venue registration, artist registration and matching will be broken out into separate time periods.
Venue Registration for 2010
Open: Monday, March 15 (Noon EDT)
Close: Thursday April 15, 2010 (5:00PM EDT)
Artist Registration for 2010
Open: Monday, April 19 (Noon EDT)
Close: Thursday, May 27 (5:00PM EDT)
Artist/Venue Matching Period for 2010
Open: Tuesday, June 1 (Noon EDT)
Close: Thursday, July 1 (5:00PM EDT)
We’ll start with venues. So, when artists register, they can plan their work around a known quantity of spaces available. Then artists will register. Venues can use this time to see who is joining and start planning a show. After artist registration ends, matching begins. Venues and artists will have had time to develop a “game plan” during the registration process, and many will probably have already begun talks informally. So, during the month of June, negotiations over the Hosting Agreement can take place and artists can formally secure venues. By the close of Matching July 1, there’s plenty of time to work on the logistics of staging an exhibition.
ArtPrize 2010, the event, happens September 22 – October 10
Download ArtPrize 2010 Official Rules
