Awards

All the buzz, all the excitement—all the creative energy crackling through venues and city streets—culminates in the awards themselves. 

Artists are the beating heart that makes the ArtPrize experience possible, and one of the great joys of the event is recognizing their extraordinary talents and rewarding the most exceptional among them. 

As an open, international art competition, our core mission is to elevate and celebrate amazing art, making Grand Rapids a premier destination for the arts community. This year, we’ll honor outstanding artists by awarding a total of $600,000 in grants and prizes.

This is the headliner. The prize that gave ArtPrize its name. 

Because of the nearly 800,000 visitors who experience ArtPrize do so not only as spectators but as judges. They drive the conversation. They cast their votes. And from among all the entries across all the categories, they change the life of one gifted artist by choosing the one that wowed them the most.

The Grand Prize Award is determined by the general public who cast their votes on eligible ArtPrize entries spanning across all categories of art and design throughout the duration of the event, taking place September 18, 2025–October 4, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is a publicly juried prize, recognizing the aesthetic opinion of nearly 800,000 attendees. 

From its inception, ArtPrize revolutionized the idea of an art festival by democratizing it. And that’s as true today as ever.

This year, we feature six categories of entries. That means the public will vote for its favorites in each, awarding six different prizes of $10,000. Art comes in many forms, and we’re here to celebrate a brilliant creative array.

ArtPrize will award $10,000 based on the top publicly voted entry within each of six categories: 2D, 3D, Installation, Time-Based, New Media, and +Design.

(For detailed category information, please visit our FAQ page.)

Presented by:

ArtPrize is a platform on which artists and their work can be seen, appreciated, and celebrated. And we want that to be especially true for those from underrepresented communities.

The five Visibility Awards shine a spotlight on exceptional work by Artists of diverse backgrounds. Selected by an equally diverse group of jurors, these awards strive to showcase the broad range of experience and expertise participants bring to enrich our annual event.

A select panel of jurists will recognize five entries by artists from underrepresented communities to be recognized for excellence in their work and exceptional execution of their vision. A representative group of national jurists will consider the work of all eligible entries—BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and artists with disabilities—to select five winning entries.

Just as the public has its say, so do the experts.

We’re once again inviting a group of notables from the world of art to honor works of exemplary merit. And from among the elite works in each category, these experts will convene to determine a single winner—the best of the best—as the recipient of the $100,000 Juried Grand Prize.

Along with public and peer selected winning entries, ArtPrize engages a select group of notable critics, curators, educators, and gallerists to consider all entries and select one outstanding Artist’s work to be recognized as the Juried Grand Prize selection.

+Design category and +Design juried category award presented by:

For each of the six categories, one juror from that respective field—a critic, curator, educator, or gallerists—will select a work of exemplary merit for a $10,000 prize.

Sometimes, the public and the experts agree on a work of art. Sometimes, they don’t. But the conversations that arise among all involved are an invaluable feature of the ArtPrize experience.

Jurors within their respective field of artistic expertise will select winners who are outstanding within each category to be recognized with a $10,000 award and recognition of artistic excellence.

The categories are as follows. (For more detailed category information, visit our FAQ page.)

The annual ArtPrize event is really a constellation of venues, and this year, we want to recognize the brightest star among them. A $5,000 award will go to the venue that best displays thoughtful curation, features talented artists from across categories, and that uses their space in ways that encourage delight and discovery for visitors.

While ArtPrize jurors tour the city looking for the best entries to award prizes, they'll also look for the most Outstanding Venue. That means looking for venues that display thoughtful curation, engaging talented artists across all categories, and exemplify the spirit of ArtPrize—a creative use of space that displays sheer visual talent and spurs discovery.