George A. Spiva Center for the Arts Board of Directors President, Angela Vorhees, is pleased to announce that Heather Lesmeister has accepted the position of Executive Director. Ms. Lesmeister joins Spiva from Missouri Southern State University where she led...

Mary Jo's Memorial Celebration Saturday, June 19th 4:30-6:30 with remarks at 5 Thornhill Dillon Chapel 602 S. Byers, Joplin

April 2, 2020 To ensure the safety of our staff and members, the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts will remain closed during this national crisis. All exhibits, events and classes are on hold for now. We are acting out of an abundance of caution – with health and...

To Spiva Membership and Patrons, The health and safety of our patrons, staff and artists will always be of the utmost concern.  We are closely monitoring the regional response to the evolving situation regarding COVID-19.  At this time, there will be no change to our...

Across America there are art treasures hidden away in the vaults of museums and art centers large and small. Alice Walton, the founder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art at Bentonville, Arkansas, decided to do something about that. She established the Art...

SPIVA will host the group exhibition “STRATA: Layered Meaning” featuring work from Madeline Gallucci, Melaney Mitchell, Steve Snell, Patty Carroll, Andy Gershon, Bobby Houlette, Brett Reif, and Mary Ann Strandell. The work in this exhibition features multiple mediums:...

It’s the time of year when photographers from across the nation are poring through their photographs and second-guessing which ones to enter in the 43rd PhotoSpiva competitive and exhibit of Spiva Center for the Arts. The ante is high, considering that they’ll be...

The Joplin Globe’s letters to the editors and op-ed pages have finally sucked me into their Sunday morning jolt of reality. For years, I veered from those pages like the snake house at a zoo. I considered their opinions so ill-informed and unprogressive that I simply...