Watercolor USA 2025 is a prestigious national competitive exhibition celebrating water media painting. This year marks its inaugural presentation by the Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri, after being hosted by the Springfield Art Museum in Springfield, Missouri, since 1962. Spiva is deeply honored to host this historic exhibition and continue its legacy of showcasing outstanding water media artistry.

The exhibit will run from Saturday, August 23, to Saturday, October 11, 2025, with a special opening reception on Friday, August 22.

Spiva Center for the Arts invites artists to submit portrait work for a new exhibition exploring the tension between external appearances and internal truths.

Behind the Mask challenges the audience to examine how we navigate the complex relationship between our public selves and our private identities. Whether literal, metaphorical, or psychological, the "mask" serves as a symbol of the roles we adopt, the facades we construct, and the truth we conceal. These do not need to be self-portraits.  

We invite entries of work in any physical medium. This will be a juried exhibition, and the work selected will be on display in Spiva’s gallery for seven weeks. 

Artwork Guidelines: 

Mediums Accepted: We are accepting all forms of portraiture, including but not limited to painting, photography, mixed media, and sculpture. 

Presentation Restriction: Accepted work must not be presented behind glass, unless it is hand-delivered. 

Focus: Portraits should explore the theme of masks—whether through symbolism, abstract representations, or direct depictions. Consider how your work might show the divide between outward appearances and inner emotions or truths. We are not necessarily looking for literal masks.

Awards:

Monetary prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

Established in 1977, PhotoSpiva is the longest-running competition of its kind.

PhotoSpiva is a national competition hosted annually by Spiva Center for the Arts. Founded in 1977, PhotoSpiva has become the longest-running photographic competition of its kind in the U.S. As stated by the founders, the objective of PhotoSpiva is to “present an exhibition of excellence in photography, celebrating the scope and vigorous activity of today’s contemporary photographers.”

Co-Founder Jim Mueller stated, “We have intentionally avoided any categorization of either photographers or their work in setting forth the criteria for this competitive.” PhotoSpiva welcomes any photographic process as long as it is original artwork and has not been previously exhibited at Spiva Center for the Arts. This philosophy has created an unbiased forum for exhibiting and educating photographers. The PhotoSpiva prospectus, promotional materials and exhibition brochures are distributed to professional photographers, emerging artists, educators, students, and amateur photography enthusiasts throughout the United States.

Eligibility

PhotoSpiva is open to any amateur or professional photographer in the United States or its territories. Submitted images must be the photographer’s own work, and it is the sole responsibility of the photographer to obtain written releases from any recognizable person(s) depicted. Two-dimensional work derived from any photographic process — traditional, digital, or photo-based mixed media — is eligible as long as the work is original and has never been exhibited at George A. Spiva Center for the Arts. Three–dimensional work is not eligible for this competition and exhibition.