ArtPrize: The Sophomore Year What started as a grass-roots art experiment in 2009 expanded into an even larger art extravaganza that had lots of people talking. Photography by Johnny Quirin and Michael Buck ArtPrize 2010 statistics were hard to ignore: 1,713 artists; 192 venues; 44,912 registered voters; 465,538 votes cast. An estimated $7,000,000 in economic impact. The discourse was equally impressive, from serious debates on “What is art?” to such oft-heard comments as “Wow, that’s cool!”

The second ArtPrize — a 19-day competition open to any artist willing to let the public choose the $250,000 grand prize winner — attracted national attention. Kathy Lee raved about the grass-roots event on the “Today Show.” Articles on ArtPrize were published in USA Today and The New York Times. Numerous high-profile art critics blogged about it.

“Cavalry, American Officers, 1921” by Chris LaPorte of Grand Rapids

But in the end, it was the community spirit that ruled. People filled museums. They traipsed through restaurants, churches, bars and businesses. They tweeted and texted. And they came back to see more. GR

The Top Ten:
1. “Cavalry, American Officers, 1921” by Chris LaPorte of Grand Rapids
2. “Svelata” by Mia Tavonatti of Santa Ana, Calif.
3. “Lure/Wave” by Beili Liu of Austin, Texas
4. “A Matter of Time” by Paul Baliker of Palm Coast, Fla.
5. “Vision” by David Spriggs of Montreal, Canada
6. “Helping mom one penny at a time” by Wander Martich of Grand Rapids
7. “Dancing With Lions” by Bill Secunda of Butler, Pa.
8. “Salt and Earth (garden for Patricia)” by Young Kim of Winston-Salem, N.C.
9. “Steam Pig Experiment” by Joachim Jensen and Thomas Birks of Grand Rapids
10. “Elephant Walk” by Fredrick Prescott of Sante Fe, N.M.