Grand Rapids, Mich. -- ArtPrize, the Grand Rapids art show and competition that surprised locals by drawing tens of thousands of visitors when it debuted in 2009, is back for a second year.

And it's expected to be even bigger this time. The southwestern Michigan city's vibrant arts scene will get an infusion of energy from 1,713 artists displaying their works for 19 days in 192 venues, from plazas, hotels and museums, to restaurants, coffee shops and parks.

At least one of those artists hails from Southeast Missouri. Scott City artist and art teacher Matt Miller will drive to Grand Rapids on Thursday to drop off a 16-foot-tall sculpture for the show.

Artists work with venues to plan where their work will be displayed. Miller's sculpture will be at the Heart of West Michigan United Way.

"The meaning behind my piece kind of goes with the meaning behind their business," Miller said.

His towering sculpture will be displayed under a 20-foot archway beside the building.

"From the street, I think it'll look neat because [the archway is] kind of going to frame my piece," he said.

One of the most unusual aspects of the event, which runs from Sept. 22 through Oct. 10, is that the public decides the top 10 winners through "American Idol"-style voting. Last year, more than 37,000 people voted on their ArtPrize favorites. Voters have to register in Michigan and then can vote either online or by text message.

Artists from 21 countries and 44 states are taking part in the competition, which offers $449,000 in prizes decided by the public, including a top award of $250,000.

"It's designed for maximum openness in participation," ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos said.

"The extent to which people got it the first year and ran with it even further than we had imagined was amazing."

Paul Ha, director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, said winners of most art competitions are decided by a few professionals.

"It's very rare to have such democracy in art, the fact that the public vote counts," said Ha, who is scheduled to speak in ArtPrize's lecture series. Ha did not attend last year but received a barrage of enthusiastic emails from artists who did participate. He plans to spend four days exploring this year's event and the host city.

The success of the inaugural ArtPrize caught many off-guard. Throngs spent hours or days walking between the 159 venues that displayed the work of 1,262 artists. Some restaurants ran out of food and were forced to close early.

Organizers had also expected most visitors would be in their 20s or 30s, but all ages turned out.

This year's schedule includes some family-focused events such as neighborhood block parties.

"I didn't even think of children when coming up with the initial concept," DeVos said. "The extent that it was embraced by families, and served as really an inspiration for kids to get excited about art and making things, was really, really gratifying."

DeVos is grandson of multibillionaire Rich DeVos, a co-founder of direct-sales giant Amway Corp., and son of Dick DeVos, a former Amway president who unsuccessfully ran for Michigan governor as the GOP candidate in 2006. In starting ArtPrize, Rich DeVos' long-term goal is to encourage the growth of the area's creative culture. In the process, he's helped to raise Grand Rapids' profile as an arts destination.

While the public gets to make the big-money award decisions, this year's ArtPrize also includes juried awards worth at least $5,000 each. Judged by experts, the categories include best two-dimensional work; best three-dimensional work; best time-based work of performance, film or video; and an award for use of urban space.

Southeast Missourian features editor Chris Harris contributed to this report.