GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — ArtPrize is undergoing a major change, with the independent organization that ran it dissolving and the event being picked up by a cooperative led by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the city of Grand Rapids and Kendall College of Art and Design.

“This is now becoming the next evolution of ArtPrize and really embedding ArtPrize into the community,” DGRI President and CEO Tim Kelly told News 8 after word of the move came Thursday.

He said the core elements of ArtPrize will remain the same: It will still be a competition with public vote prizes and will still be held in September, though exact 2023 dates have not been set.

“All those great things that ArtPrize is known for and has really proven the model on, those are the things that we want to make sure that we’re keeping around because that’s what the community has really come to love and expect,” Kelly said.

The announcement caught some long time ArtPrize artists off guard.

“It was surprising. I’ve participated in ArtPrize from the beginning,” said artist Lora Robertson. “It’s been a great opportunity for artists in Grand Rapids and for the local downtown businesses. And I hope that they continue with this new 2.0.”

Still being worked out is exactly where the money for the huge, three-week event will come from, though Kelly indicated it will have to be largely from corporate donors and sponsorships.

“The intent — we’re in this transitional phase right now — is really to build upon the legacy and all the great work that ArtPrize has given to the community over the years,” Kelly said. “We understand the value that ArtPrize has provided to the community and specifically to downtown over the years and so the interest in the partners was really just to come together and keep that moving forward.”

Still being worked out is exactly where the money for the huge, three-week event will come from, though Kelly indicated it will have to be largely from corporate donors and sponsorships.

“The intent — we’re in this transitional phase right now — is really to build upon the legacy and all the great work that ArtPrize has given to the community over the years,” Kelly said. “We understand the value that ArtPrize has provided to the community and specifically to downtown over the years and so the interest in the partners was really just to come together and keep that moving forward.”

The vanishing ArtPrize organization pitched the new format as “ArtPrize 2.0.” It said it is giving its creative, technology and communications teams to the new partnership. Kelly said ArtPrize has an amazing staff and firm decisions about whether and which of those staff members will stay on with the partnership should come at the start of the next year.

“The ArtPrize board of directors expresses deep appreciation to the entire community for 13 years of partnership and support as it winds down its operations,” a Thursday release from ArtPrize said.

Founded by Rick DeVos, grandson of the Amway founder, the massive art competition annually draws hundreds of artists and hundreds of thousands of visitors — not to mention millions of dollars — to downtown Grand Rapids.

“What started as an experiment in 2009 quickly became something more, and we have an entire community to thank for embracing the ArtPrize idea and taking it to amazing heights,” DeVos, who chaired the ArtPrize board, said in a statement. “…While there are certainly mixed emotions, we know the time is right to conclude the original ArtPrize experiment and open up space for new energy and creativity. We are thrilled that the partnership of DGRI, KCAD, and the City of Grand Rapids is stepping forward to continue to produce an incredible fall event.”

Kelly praised Rick DeVos’ vision for ArtPrize said the partnership would want to continue to work with the DeVos family moving forward.

ArtPrize adjusted its prize structure this year, with no major public vote grand prize winner. Instead, the award with the single biggest dollar amount was the Artist-to-Artist Award, which was won by a collection of reconstructed clay jars containing detailed dioramas entitled Creation, Destruction, Reflection by brothers Brad and Bryan Caviness.

—News 8’s Joe LaFurgey contributed to this report.