Grand Rapids Is About to Become One Giant Gallery: Your ArtPrize 2026 Game Plan
Sep 15, 2026
ArtPrize returns September 18–October 3—with Preview Week starting September 12—and this year Grand Rapids is turning up the volume on dance, music, visual art and fashion.
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Every fall, something pretty extraordinary happens in Grand Rapids.
The city itself becomes the gallery.
ArtPrize 2026 officially runs September 18–October 3, with Preview Week September 12–17, giving locals and early visitors a first look before the competition begins.
This week on Coffee with Steve & Margaux, we’re giving you the dates to circle—and reminding everyone why ArtPrize is one of the experiences that makes West Michigan such an extraordinary place to visit and call home.
It starts with Dance on September 12, including performances at Rosa Parks Circle curated by Grand Rapids Ballet.
Then comes the Opening Celebration on September 18, when music takes center stage. A musical parade will make its way from Rosa Parks Circle to the Pearl Street Bridge, culminating with a performance on the Earth Harp, billed by ArtPrize as the world’s longest stringed instrument. Public voting also begins that day at noon.
September 26 is all about visual art, including family-friendly Doodle Street at the Downtown Market and the Halftime Party at John Ball Zoo, where the competition’s current frontrunners will be revealed.
And then comes the finale.
On October 3, ArtPrize heads to the new Acrisure Amphitheater for its largest Awards Celebration yet, followed by an RC Caylan Atelier couture runway show accompanied by live ballet, symphony, and opera performances.
And don’t forget: public voting closes October 2 at 10 PM.
What we love most about ArtPrize isn’t only the art.
It’s the artists, organizers, performers, businesses, and venues who transform Grand Rapids into something you simply have to experience. These are the people and places making West Michigan cool.
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Grand Rapids, this is it.
And if you’re wondering what it might be like to live somewhere with this much creativity, community, and energy?
Come experience ArtPrize.
You may start looking at Grand Rapids a little differently.
Plant good seeds.
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