ArtPrize Eight

ArtPrize is an annual open art competition hosted in Grand Rapids, MI. ArtPrize Eight is about patterns — recognition of one’s own patterns as well as consideration and acceptance of alternative patterns. The ArtPrize Eight identity contains a system of fifty-two patterns, two for each letter in the English alphabet. Viewers are encouraged to choose the pattern they identify with and pair it with what might be considered an opposite. This pairing creates a contrast (as well as a signature “8”) that represents the creative tension that exists within the fabric of the event — between art and viewer, artist and venue, public and juried vote. With over 47,000 possible combinations of pattern and color, the identity scratches the surface of the wildly differing viewpoints that exist within the ArtPrize audience. Over the course of 18 days there were over 380,000 votes cast and more than 400,000 people visited ArtPrize Eight.