GRAND RAPIDS, MI.- ArtPrize, the radically open, international art competition, tonight awarded $498,000 in cash prizes to 18 artists in the conclusion of the 19-day event. The awards ceremony took place at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids, Mich. The top prize of $250,000 went to Mia Tavonatti from Santa Ana, Calif. for her large-scale mosaic, Crucifixion. More than 382,000 votes were cast in ArtPrize 2011 and an estimated 500,000 visitors experienced the third annual competition. ArtPrize is considered the world’s largest social art experiment and conversation on public art. With its public voting and juried awards, ArtPrize 2011 explored the tension between the professional and populist in an epic conversation that was its largest to date. Rounding out the top three winners included Tracy Van Duinen of Chicago, Ill. who led a collaboration of artists to create Metaphorest, a mural featured at the West Michigan