ArtPrize crowds surpass expectations

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The first-ever ArtPrize is drawing huge crowds, as the first offical weekend drew tens of thousands of people.

Bill Holsinger-Robinson, the operations director of ArtPrize, told 24 Hour News 8 he had hoped for something like the turnout but that this past weekends turnout just wasn't expected.

"But you know, quite frankly, this being the first year," said Holsinger-Robinson, "we had no idea how many people would participate. And by all means, it completely blew any of our expectations out of the water."

At one point, an estimated 20,000 people packed into Monroe Center. And currently, 28,000 people have registered to vote on their favorite works of art. The competition goes through October 10.

Holsinger-Robinson said the first weekend of ArtPrize "sets the bar for expectations and how we'll prepare for this next weekend."

Holsinger-Robinson and other ArtPrize officials said they are making notes on how they could better prepare for the high volumes of traffic they saw.