Rick DeVos announced his plans for ArtPrize, an International arts competition he is bringing to Grand Rapids.
Tommy Knight
4/24/2009
Tommy Knight
4/24/2009
This is a except from M-Live.com
Rick DeVos unveiling $500,000 ArtPrize contest to turn Grand Rapids into a gallery by Chris Knape | The Grand Rapids Press
Thursday April 23, 2009, 8:00 AM
GRAND RAPIDS -- Artists from around the world are expected to descend on Grand Rapids this fall to compete for votes and the world's largest prize for art during a two-week event announced by Amway heir Rick DeVos this morning.
The $500,000 ArtPrize competition is designed to draw worldwide attention to Grand Rapids through its integration of technology, a diverse group of venues and the creations of hundreds of competitors working in virtually any medium.
Saying the comparison to "American Idol" is "inevitable," DeVos said prizes will be awarded based on public votes cast via text messages, the Web and special applications developed for devices such as the iPhone.
DeVos said he sees the democratic and technological aspects of the event as a way to "reboot the conversation between artists and the public."
The competition begins Sept. 23. Ten top vote recipients will be chosen after the first week to compete in a second round of public voting for the $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000 first, second and third place prizes to be awarded Oct. 8. Each finalist will receive at least $7,000.
The announcement ended more than a week of speculation that began when DeVos sent invitations to an event this morning where he planned to announce "a major initiative that will affect Grand Rapids for years to come."
A webcast of the public announcement of ArtPrize is available at the Internet broadcasting site Ustream.tv at 9 a.m. on the online video broadcasting site ustream.tv.
You can watch the live ustream video here.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1421683
Rick DeVos unveiling $500,000 ArtPrize contest to turn Grand Rapids into a gallery by Chris Knape | The Grand Rapids Press
Thursday April 23, 2009, 8:00 AM
GRAND RAPIDS -- Artists from around the world are expected to descend on Grand Rapids this fall to compete for votes and the world's largest prize for art during a two-week event announced by Amway heir Rick DeVos this morning.
The $500,000 ArtPrize competition is designed to draw worldwide attention to Grand Rapids through its integration of technology, a diverse group of venues and the creations of hundreds of competitors working in virtually any medium.
Saying the comparison to "American Idol" is "inevitable," DeVos said prizes will be awarded based on public votes cast via text messages, the Web and special applications developed for devices such as the iPhone.
DeVos said he sees the democratic and technological aspects of the event as a way to "reboot the conversation between artists and the public."
The competition begins Sept. 23. Ten top vote recipients will be chosen after the first week to compete in a second round of public voting for the $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000 first, second and third place prizes to be awarded Oct. 8. Each finalist will receive at least $7,000.
The announcement ended more than a week of speculation that began when DeVos sent invitations to an event this morning where he planned to announce "a major initiative that will affect Grand Rapids for years to come."
A webcast of the public announcement of ArtPrize is available at the Internet broadcasting site Ustream.tv at 9 a.m. on the online video broadcasting site ustream.tv.
You can watch the live ustream video here.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1421683
