ArtPrize 2026 is flying toward a potentially world-record breaking photo finish, with a dragon and seven sins among those leading the way.
Voting in ArtPrize, the annual international art competition with more than 1,000 works showcased at more than 150 venues across Grand Rapids, concludes at 10 p.m., Oct. 2. Winners will be announced 8 p.m., Oct. 3 at the event’s largest ever awards celebration, to be followed by a fashion show at 9 p.m. This fashion show is vying for the highest attendance ever. A Guinness World Record official will be on site.
ArtPrize 2026, which began Sept. 18, is going big in every way and making a comeback in its 16th season since its founding in 2009.
“This year, we had over 1,000 entries for the first time in eight years,
the first time since COVID and since our transition to a public-private partnership,” ArtPrize Deputy Director Coleman Brook Sr., said. “It’s a milestone we were looking forward to and are proud to have hit this year.”
Last year, the event recorded 967,000 visitors and this year, Brook is expecting ArtPrize may have more than 1 million attendees, its highest ever.
Brook attributes this success to a leadership change early this year, “untangling” of a few things that didn’t work, scrutiny of what worked previously, and a renewed focus on the artist experience.
“We wanted to make sure they feel the love and understand they are key to this whole thing,” Brook said.
Among the artists surely feeling the love are those who at the halfway mark of the show were leading in public votes, including E’lla Aimee Webber, whose 2D entry “Seven Deadly Sins” is at Devos Place and Tina Tabbi, whose 3D entry, a driftwood dragon entitled “Catch My Drift” can be seen at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
“It’s still anyone’s contest,” Brook noted, adding that prizes include a $100,000 juried grand prize, as well as a $100,000 prize for the public’s favorite artwork. “Voting is open. Come see all of the art and why Grand Rapids is billing itself as Art City, USA.”
For more information, visit artprize.org.
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ArtPrize 2026 tries for world-record finish, still time to vote
