NEW YORK, NY.- ArtPrize, the radically open, international art competition, returns for its 7th edition September 23-October 11, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Since its founding in 2009, ArtPrize has continuously adapted its format and voting structure, demonstrating a commitment to innovating and improving the award to further drive public engagement in the arts and reward artists for exceptional work. New for the 2015 iteration of the competition, ArtPrize has announced a $40,000 Curatorial Fellowship and $30,000 Venue Grant program.

In addition to the public and juried awards, ArtPrize will provide an increased total of $220,000 in grants to artists and curators participating in ArtPrize 2015. New locations for ArtPrize Pitch Nights have also been announced in two cities. The program awarding $5,000 to worthy applicants during an evening of artist-led project pitches will be expanded to New York, NY and Durham, NC, in addition to returning to Minneapolis, MN and Indianapolis, IN for 2015.

ArtPrize 2015 will award $200,000 to two grand prize winners selected by public and juried vote, as well as eight category awards of $12,500 each, totaling $500,000 in prize money. The Grand Prize and Category jurors announcement for the 2015 competition is forthcoming.

Venue registration is now open through April 9th, followed by artist registration, which will be open April 20th through June 4th. The Connections period, where artists and venues in Grand Rapids match with each other to co-curate their ArtPrize exhibition via online platform, will take place April 28th through June 18th.

Earlier this year, ArtPrize announced a charter agreement with a new, Dallas based nonprofit to launch ArtPrize Dallas, the first independently organized event outside of Grand Rapids and exclusive to the southwest region. The 19-day event is slated to launch in April 2016 in Dallas, TX and will mark a new chapter in ArtPrize history, opening up creative, cultural and economic opportunities for new audiences and participants.

ArtPrize 2014 included 1,536 entries representing 51 countries and 42 U.S. states and territories showing at 174 venues including art museums, galleries, bars, coffee shops, stores, hotel lobbies, public parks, bridges, laundromats and auto body shops. ArtPrize now annually attracts more than 400,000 active art lovers to Grand Rapids, making it one of the world’s largest art competitions. The 2014 iteration of ArtPrize saw the Jurors’ Grand Prize, decided by Susan Sollins, Katharina Grosse and Leonardo Drew, split between artists Sonya Clark and Anila Quayyum Agha, with Ms. Agha also sweeping the Public Vote Grand Prize.