GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Organizers say this fall's ArtPrize competition will return to larger-than-life displays that defined the event's early years.
ArtPrize returns on September 13 and 2024's competition will start off with an opening celebration featuring a multi-sensory party on the Grand River. That night is slated to kick off with a trio of parades that will all end at the Pearl Street Bridge.
A party on the bridge will feature music, food, drinks, and the unveiling of what organizers call "something big." That surprise is being billed as "back-to-back visual displays." The spectacle is making the U.S. debut of some technology. Exact details are under wraps.
“This is the return of big spectacle for ArtPrize," said Theresa Anderson, Production and Operations Manager for ArtPrize. "We want to put Grand Rapids on the map with this celebration and make it something people will look forward to every year.”
ArtPrize will wrap up the evening with a fireworks show in downtown Grand Rapids around 9 p.m.
ArtPrize 2024 is set to run from September 13 to 28. The competition has 1,644 artist registered to display 1,152 different entries. More than 180 venues across Grand Rapids are set to play host. Organizers say those numbers are the highest since 2017.
Last year's competition, the first under the control of the City of Grand Rapids, attracted just over 700,000 visitors and generated more than $40 million for the local economy.
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