MISSOURI ARTS AWARDS 2025

Since 1983, the Missouri Arts Council and the State of Missouri have been honoring our state’s arts heroes—the people who make the arts happen. Our annual Missouri Arts Awards celebrate people, organizations, and communities that have made profound and lasting contributions to the cultural and artistic climate of the state. Including the 2025 honorees, the awards have acclaimed 255 people, organizations, and communities throughout the state. Honorees are selected by an independent panel in six categories: Arts Education, Arts Organization, Creative Community, Individual Artist, Leadership in the Arts, and Philanthropy.

The 2025 honorees will be celebrated in a public ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Jefferson City on Wednesday, February 5. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. and will include remarks by Lieutenant Governor David Wasinger. We invite everyone to attend.

Arts Education | Springfield Regional Arts Council
Arts education is a vital aspect of the services the Springfield Regional Arts Council provides to 27 counties in southwest Missouri through Growing Up in the Arts for students and the Springfield Regional Arts Integration Conference for educators. Growing Up in the Arts brings inspiring interactive experiences outside the school day to underserved students in grades K-8. The annual conference empowers educators with arts integration strategies they can immediately apply in their classrooms to continue creative learning at school.
• Springfield Regional Arts Council

Arts Organization | Saint Louis Art Fair
Since the Saint Louis Art Fair began in 1994, it has become one of the premier art fairs in the United States, with a profound impact both artistically and economically. Every year about 200 artists, from emerging local talents to established international stars, bring a diverse array of art forms to over 130,000 people. During its three-day run, the fair also continuously involves children in hands-on arts experiences at its Creative Castle and showcases Missouri music, dance, and theater artists on two stages.
• Saint Louis Art Fair

Creative Community | City of Mexico
The mid-Missouri city of Mexico abounds with vibrant and varied arts experiences that enrich and unite the community. Presser Arts Center is a hub for performing arts and educational opportunities for all ages. Every year Missouri Military Academy produces Jazz on the Lake and many other free performances. There are studios and shops, historic sites and museums, and festivals such as the annual Walk Back In Time. Many programs are largely produced by volunteers, furthering strengthening the deep grassroots connection.
• City of Mexico

Individual Artist | Karen E. Griffin, Kansas City
Karen E. Griffin is a textile, teaching, and performing artist—an art quilter and certified national and international storyteller. She tells stories of African American experiences not only in her performances but in her quilts, weaving in symbols and materials such as traditional African cottons. Since her first solo exhibition in 2020 she has participated in 41 solo and group exhibitions as well as 28 educational workshops, presentations, and special events.
• Art by .E Lewis Studio

Leadership in the Arts | Sue Greenberg, St. Louis
Sue Greenberg has been the executive director of Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA) since 1986. Under her determined leadership, VLAA provides services to artists and arts organizations not only in greater St. Louis but also in eastern Missouri, from free legal and accounting assistance to a wide variety of affordable educational programs. Through her support, encouragement, and expertise, she plays a pivotal role in cultivating Missouri’s creative economy.
• St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts

Philanthropy | Alex and Robin LaBrunerie, Columbia
Alex and Robin LaBrunerie have upheld the arts in mid-Missouri for decades with their leadership, advocacy, financial support, ongoing collection of works by local artists, and countless hours of volunteer service. They have especially focused on Ragtag Film Society, Museum of Art & Archaeology at the University of Missouri–Columbia, Montminy Gallery at the Boone County History & Culture Center, and Missouri Symphony, as well as Access Arts, Orr Street Studios, Sager Reeves Gallery, and Mareck Center for Dance.

Every year, the honorees are commemorated on a poster featuring work by a Missouri artist, and are presented with awards created in glass by a Missouri artist.

Signature Image Artist | Bryan Haynes, Washington
Internationally renowned, Bryan Dawes Haynes continues the legacy of early 20th-century artists of his home state of Missouri. Described as part of the New Regionalism movement, his paintings sculpt form with light, and invite viewers to enter his world through storytelling.
• The Art of Bryan Haynes

Awards Artwork Artist | Wanda Tyner, Lee’s Summit
Wanda Tyner creates sculptures, wall hangings, bowls, vases, tableware, garden art, and jewelry. She showcases her works in galleries, juried art exhibits, and art fairs. Her art has won multiple awards and is included in several international collections.
• Wanda Tyner Glass

CHOOSING THE HONOREES

An independent panel of Missourians representing the arts community throughout the state selects the honorees from among public nominations. These panelists chose the 2025 honorees:

MISSOURI ARTS AWARDS 2025

CHOOSING THE HONOREES

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