GRAND RAPIDS, MI – ArtPrize has awarded $5,000 to a Minnesota-based artist and Calvin College graduate to be a part of the sixth annual event.

Bjorn Sparrman is the winner of the second annual ArtPrize Pitch Night Minneapolis, held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Sparrman, who earned his bachelor's degree in fine arts from Calvin College in 2012, will construct a faux border crossing the Gillett Bridge, which spans the Grand River from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Ah-Nab-Awen Park on the west bank to DeVos Place convention center on the east bank.

The border, complete with awning, signs and a booth with a border guard, will divide Grand Rapids between east and west.

Sparrman said he's excited by the potential of the well-traveled bridge that's a pedestrian-only crossing.

"It’s a rich space and a unique opportunity,” Sparrman said. “It’s my hope that the project considers the ethos of ArtPrize and the choreography of the crowd.”

ArtPrize 2014 returns to Grand Rapids Sept. 24 with 1,537 entries by artists representing 51 countries and 42 U.S. states all competing for $560,000 in prize money to be awarded near the end of the 19-day exhibition.

Sparrman was selected from five finalists to in the second annual ArtPrize Pitch Night Minneapolis, exclusively for Minnesota-based artists, sponsored by Delta Air Lines and Open Systems Technologies.

Related: Walker Art Center hosts 'ArtPrize Pitch Night' tonight to discover artist for ArtPrize 2013

Jurors admired the opportunity the project presents for artistic risk, said Jehre Patrick, program director of mnartists.org.

"Myself and the other jurors were impressed with Bjorn’s awareness of the bridge as a passage,” Patrick said. “We were interested in his ability to create a point of engagement and an obstacle, making people stop and consider the work."

ArtPrize Pitch Night Minneapolis was held June 26 at the Walker Art Center. Five artists were given five minutes, using five slides, to make the case to a panel of five local art professionals to award $5,000 for their proposed entry into ArtPrize 2014.

ArtPrize inaugurated Pitch Night last year at the Walker Art Center to find and support a local artist and a worthy entry in the fifth annual exhibition.

The winners of the first annual ArtPrize Pitch Night Minneapolis, Alexander Hanson and Daniel Feinberg, were nominated to the ArtPrize 2013 Juried Short List for Best Use of Urban Space for their installation, "Temporary's Pursuit of Permanence."

ArtPrize expanded Pitch Night to Cincinnati, Ohio in partnership with 21c Museum Hotels, offering the winning artist $5,000 and a spot on Louis Campau Promenade during this fall's exhibition created by social media entrepreneur Rick DeVos.

Related: ArtPrize 2014 awards $5,000 to Cincinnati artist for 1,826-piece installation coming to Grand Rapids

“The second Pitch Night Minneapolis was a great success,” said ArtPrize exhibitions director Kevin Buist. “Bjorn’s proposal is a great example of the type of provocative and thought provoking project Pitch Night is designed to enable.”

Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk covers arts and entertainment for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jkaczmarczyk@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.