For the past several days there has been a lot of buzz around town about an "invitation only" meeting being held this morning to announce an event that will change Grand Rapids, MI forever! 

Rick DeVos, grandson on Amway co-founder, Richard DeVos, announced this morning that he has established a world wide art competition with a prize to the winner of $250,000.  The competiton is simply named...ArtPrize. It is open to both established and emerging artists and will be staged throughout the city.  The ArtPrize event will be limited only by the number of artists who register and the number of venues that are offered.  Anyone in the city can register a venue, indoor or outdoor, and invite artists to show in their space.  The ten artists with the highest votes will be awarded prizes.

I anticipate the excitement to grow as this event begins to take shape.  The actual exhibition will take place Sept. 23-Oct. 10th.  The general public will be the ones who will actually be voting and will determine the winners. Click here to view a short video about the event 

Grand Rapidians have long enjoyed the "LaGrande Vitesse" stabile created by Alexander Calder expressly for the city of Grand Rapids in 1969.  Additionally Grand Rapids has become a destination for those wanting to visit the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, and the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.  Soon we'll be able to enjoy works in all types of mediums, large and small, throughout our city!