ArtPrize Seven officially wrapped up on October 9th, 2015 with $500,000 awarded to the top pieces from the public vote and juried vote. Thousands of people visited downtown Grand Rapids, viewing hundreds of different pieces of art and voting for their favorites.
The top winner for the juried awards was “Higher Ground” by Kate Gilmore, which took home $200,000. “Northwood Awakening” by Loveless PhotoFiber won the public vote and also took home $200,000. Other winners included “Greatest Generation/Beta Team/November” by Fred Cogelow (public vote winner, three-dimensional, $12,500), “REACH and SPLASH” by Andy Sacksteder (public vote winner, installation, $12,500), “Whisper” by Emily Kennerk (public vote winner, time-based, $12,500), “The Fearless Brother Project Presents: Realistic Neglects – A Graphic Series” by Monroe O’Bryant (juried vote winner, two-dimensional), “The Last Supper” by Julie Green (juried vote winner, three-dimensional), “That Was Then” by Prince Thomas (juried vote winner, time-based) and “In Our Element by Ruben Ubiera (juried vote winner, installation). More than 422,000 votes were cast by more than 35,000 visitors as the city of Grand Rapids came alive with art for two weeks. We made several trips downtown for this year’s event, and today we share some of our favorite photos with you.