featuring America's Wall of Honor
A National Monument Paying Tribute to All Members of
America's Military and All First Responders
AND SEVERAL
Mobile Museums and Education Centers
CATEGORIES & THEMES
***ALL ART ENTRIES MUST BE BASED ON OUR MISSION***
WINNERS WILL BE FEATURED IN OUR MOBILE MUSEUM GALLERIES
DURING OUR FIVE-YEAR NATIONAL TOUR and MAY BECOME PART OF A PERMANENT
BRICK-AND-MORTAR MUSEUM
The mission of The Spirit of America Museum is to celebrate American realism artists in a wide variety of visual genres whose focus is on those things that make America great. Our themes include:
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Freedom and Independence
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Hard Work and Productivity
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Patriotism and Love of Country
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Our Military and First Responder Heroes
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Our History and Founding Fathers
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Philanthropy and Helping Our Neighbors
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Optimism
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Our Cultural Melting Pot
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Faith and Family
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Holidays
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The Beautiful Scenery of America
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Wildlife of America
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The American Dream
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Other Elements of our Uniqueness as a Nation
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
The focus of the “America The Beautiful” gallery will be art that features natural and scenic beauty from throughout the Nation. This will no doubt include a wide variety of landscape paintings: mountains, valleys, ocean, rivers, forests, deserts, and much more. It may also include American domestic and wild animals. Our goal will be to have works that include beauty from all 50 states and all seasons since America is truly a beautiful place to call home.
HALL OF HEROES
The focus of the “Hall of Heroes” gallery will be artistic themes that honor members of the American military - whether veterans or active duty; whether living, or having made the ultimate sacrifice. In addition to our military heroes, the gallery will also feature first responder heroes who serve in law enforcement at all levels, as firefighters, and as EMTs or Paramedics. And some of the art will pertain to everyday American heroes who choose to put the welfare of others above their own interests.
THE SCULPTURE COURT
The focus of the “Sculpture Court” gallery will be solely on three-dimensional art. The themes will always represent the “Spirit of America” that we are promoting, as described in the mission statement above. Themes may be about any topic that stands for American values, history, beauty, and culture.
SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
The focus of the “Spiritual Awakening” gallery will be works of art that focus on religion and spirituality. America was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic, and the theme of this gallery will be the positive traits that are taught by Scripture and spiritual leaders. Those themes include God, faith, hope, love, compassion, protecting the weak, assisting the helpless, family, friendship, fellowship, knowledge, wisdom, and much more.
ILLUSTRATORS (STORY TELLERS)
Illustrators are great observers of human behavior, recording it with exquisite detail and showing love for humanity and for America. Famous illustrators such as Norman Rockwell, Robert Tanenbaum, Leslie Thrasher, and dozens of others have often been ridiculed by some in the art community who don’t consider them “real Artists.” We focus on realism and art that communicates and tells a story. And we can’t think of any branch of art that is better at telling stories than the work of the prominent Illustrators. If you are a storyteller artist, we'd love to have your entry in this category!
FOUNDING FATHERS and
AMERICAN HISTORY
The entries for this category will feature portraits and groups of people like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin. It will include art that is tied to the discovery of America, the original colonies, and the formation of our democratic government of the United States. It will focus on the first 100 years of our nation’s existence - through the end of the 19th Century.
PICTURE PERFECT
The focus of the “Picture Perfect” gallery will be photographic art. Since the invention of the camera, there have been arguments about whether or not photography is an art form. Of course, for a museum that focuses on Realism, what can be more real than a photograph? It’s different than most types of art because it’s not created from an artist’s brain out of nothing - it’s capturing something created by God Himself! Of course, it involves creative artistry, but it also requires precise skills in lighting, processes, perspective, and the ability to communicate with the viewer. And like other forms of art, it tells a story, reflects emotion, and inspires!
DIGITAL REALIST
The focus of the “Digital Realist” entries will be solely on computer-generated digital art. Continuing to promote the philosophy and Spirit of America, we will feature works of art created with a variety of digital technologies, including brushes and paint effects, but often emulating styles similar to oils, acrylics, pastels, charcoal, pen, and more. The themes of the pieces may overlap with some of our other galleries, but will be restricted to digital creations. If you enter this category, you will be required to provide information about the technology you used to create the artwork.
YOUTH GALLERY
All artists aged 12-18 must submit their entries to this particular category because this is the only gallery that will carry the work of artists who have not yet reached legal age.
