The world’s largest public art competition, ArtPrize, is currently underway in downtown Grand Rapids. For 19 days every fall three square miles of Grand Rapids showcase nearly 1,500 pieces of art, filling museums, businesses, restaurants and sidewalks.

During the competition the public can enjoy and vote on the art. This Friday ArtPrize will announce its 2018 winners, half chosen by the public and the other half picked by art critics.

As the event celebrates its 10^th anniversary we’re taking a look at the impact ArtPrize has had and how CMF members are supporting this large-scale community event.

ArtPrize’s impact:

• The 19-day event has resulted in $33.7 million in economic impact for the city.

• Each year more than 522,000 total visitors come to ArtPrize from 47 countries and 50 states.

• About 82 percent of educators say students are more likely to visit an arts or cultural institution as a result of their visit to ArtPrize.

“From the beginning, ArtPrize was a totally new type of citywide event intended to disrupt typical highly curated art prizes,” ArtPrize states. “And from the beginning it has provoked discussion, on the streets and online.”

ArtPrize shares that 24 percent of its annual funding comes from foundations.

More than 10 CMF members are supporters of ArtPrize.

Several of our corporate members including PNC Bank, ITC Holdings Corp, and DTE Energy Foundation have funded free education days for students, the ArtPrize awards show and much more.

The DeVos Family Foundations, Frey Foundation, Peter C. and Emajean Cook Foundation, Wege Foundation and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are all CMF members and funders of the art competition.

Ensuring artists from all over the country and the globe can bring their art to Grand Rapids takes a lot of planning and support. The Frey Foundation helped to launch the ArtPrize Artist Seed Grants which award $50,000 to 25 artists to help fund their entries and also helps to fund the Featured Public Projects.

Frey Foundation is also a supporter of the ArtPrize venue SiTE:LAB which transforms old, unused buildings in the city into the home of contemporary award-winning art installations.

“Some want to see the building, which they may have known in an earlier time,” Paul Amenta, co-founder, SiTE:LAB said in a foundation article. “They might come for the good beer or the cool music. The art, for some, is a bonus. We want these exhibitions to be accessible to everyone, to engage the community, pose questions, generate discussions, and offer an experience.”

Beyond the art, coordinators are also mindful of the environmental impact of ArtPrize visitors, promoting public transportation to reduce the carbon footprint, selling reusable water bottles and offering recycling and composting bins around the event. The Wege Foundation is ArtPrize’s sustainability partner, supporting the event’s environmental sustainability programming.

ArtPrize officially ends this Sunday, October 7 at 6 p.m. If you’re joining us for Igniting Ideas, Sparking Change., CMF’s 46^th Annual Conference, you can check out ArtPrize pieces on display in the conference hotel. On Sunday night we will also get exclusive after-hours access to Fountain Street Church’s curated ArtPrize exhibition during our strolling dinner.