What is the Minis As Art Celebration?
The MAA Celebration will take place at AdeptiCon 2027, April 7th - 11th! An event where we can celebrate the art of miniature painting, build community, and challenge ourselves to push our art to the limit!
• Artist Demos – We are hosting live artist demos throughout the show, where artists will show off techniques—and where you’ll be able to paint alongside them!
• Artist Feedback – Bring your pieces to receive feedback from your favorite artists on how you can grow in skill and your art!
• MAA Celebration Competition – The MAA Celebration will showcase our vision for a truly open painting competition. We want to provide an experience where the biggest competition a painter has is themselves!
Meet the MAA Celebration Team!
Jason Craze
Dan Ozborne
Krysztof Kobalczyck
Vince Venturella
Lukas Zaba
Mally Anderson
Dan Athanasaw
Mike Sibilia
Tim Young
Christian Schmidt
Gabe Fischer
Christopher Masucci
Jason Craze
Chief Hobby Nerd at Monument and a life-long lover of this world of miniatures! Jason has been painting for over 45 years and is continually learning new things while also teaching and spreading the love of the hobby through the Monument live show, conventions, and any other way possible. He's also never afraid to amaze you with his horrible jokes and perfect comedic timing!
Dan Ozborne
Dan is a professional miniature painter and industry veteran based in Portland, Oregon, known for his expertise in airbrushing, vehicle painting, and advanced weathering techniques. In addition to creating high-end commission work, he is an experienced event organizer, painting instructor, and competition judge, having taught at major North American conventions including Games Workshop Warhammer Open events, Adepticon, NOVA Open, and LVO, as well as serving as a judge for the NOVA Open Capital Palette & Verkos Vault Masters Paint Competition.
Krysztof Kobalczyck
For Krzysztof, the most important thing is self-growth and the joy of learning new things and mastering the process. This hobby challenges him to think deeply and become a better person—someone who pauses from time to time to see the world with a conscious eye.
Vince Venturella
Vince loves painting minis of course - isn't that the requisite for all us being here! He has been teaching others how to paint through his YouTube Channel and in person for more than a decade. Whether it's giant machines or tiny rats and everything in between, Vince has a tutorial for it! “Miniature painting is magic. It’s therapy, it’s art, it's community, it’s creation. What more could you want?”
Lukas Zaba
Lukas Zaba is a professional sculptor and miniature painter from the Czech Republic. He first discovered the world of miniatures in 2010 and was immediately captivated. What started as a fascination quickly became a lifelong passion that continues to drive him forward. In 2017, he began sculpting his own original ideas and projects. This is how ZabaArt Miniatures was born.
Mally Anderson
Mally has loved this hobby from a very young age, starting with early Airfix models and later rediscovering the world of miniatures when The Lord of the Rings was released. The community has always been the main draw for Mally. Over time, it has become like a second family, and Mally has been fortunate to meet many wonderful people along the way. Mally looks forward to that sense of connection and camaraderie continuing for years to come.
Dan Athanasaw
Dan began his hobby journey in the 1980s with historical games and then Battletech before developing his painting interest working at Games Workshop in the 1990s. Over the years, his focus has shifted from gaming to celebrating miniature art and supporting our vibrant community. He is passionate about celebrating creativity and building inclusive spaces where painters of all backgrounds and skill levels can connect, share, and grow. Outside the hobby, Dan works as an organizational performance consultant and executive/creativity coach, helping leaders and teams unlock creativity and perform at their best.
Mike Sibilia
Mike Sibilia is a community organizer, artist, and patron of the arts whose work helped redefine large-scale miniature art events in the United States. As Art and Staff Director for NOVA Open and the Capital Palette through 2025, he became known for assembling and supporting talented teams, as well as fostering collaboration across the hobby community. Mike brings the vision, organization, and “glue” needed to build top-tier creative events.
Tim Young
Tim is a 25 year veteran hobbyist and painter who most enjoys squad level painting for good results in limited time. He’s passionate about supporting artists and building communities around the hobby that welcome and encourage everyone to be the best version of themselves. In 2025, Tim traded a career in enterprise IT to start a small farm on 15 acres in rural Oklahoma with his wife and two children.
Christian Schmidt
Before diving into the world of miniature painting, Chris' main hobby was wildlife and landscape photography for nearly 10 years. Early on during his new passion for Display and Competition painting, he realized that these two hobbies have a lot in common. He started to experiment with photography settings, backgrounds, light sources and cameras to support and improve his painting efforts. He has won multiple awards from multiple, international painting competitions. After being approached by many painters in the community, Chris decided to put the photography knowledge into a workshop that helps every painter to improve documenting their work.
Gabe Fischer
Gabe is the Brand Director at Monument Hobbies and is responsible for the behind the scenes logistics for all of Monument's events and the MAA Celebration. He is an avid board game player, D&D aficionado, and lover of all things tabletop wargames! You can also often find him making furniture out of wood, playing pickleball, and giving Christopher a hard time!
Christopher Masucci
Christopher, a.k.a. "Paid Professional" (Creative Marketing Director at Monument Hobbies), has spent most of his career working in the film, entertainment, and marketing industries. A lover of all things art, storytelling, film, and photography.
Christopher also produces the Monument Hobbies LIVE stream, where you can find him and Jason slinging PRO Acryl, talking hobby, and making sure the whole production stays on track (sometimes) weekdays from 2 PM–4 PM Monument Standard Time MST.
When he's not creating content, you'll find him talking about cameras/photography, painting everything from 1000 goblins to NEWSH-ing Stompas, tending to his plants, and telling silly stories.
MAA Celebration 2026 | Past Teaser Challenge Submission Winners
We gave out so many fun awards at AdeptiCon 2026, and look forward to doing it again in 2027!
"Whirrun" | Artist: Raphael Boyon
Award: "Best in Show - Painted"
"Lookout!" | Artist: Derek Clawson
Award: "Best in Show - Atmosphere"
"Punk Rock Marine" | Artist: Christopher Seibert
Award: Comedy Gold – "Best Friday Night Out"
"Red Carpet Pigeon" | Artist: Sam Silvers
Award: Comedy Gold – "Best Little Thing"
"Lunch Break" | Artist: Elizabeth Beckley
Award: "Best Whimsical Dreamer"
"Sirviathan" | Artist: Syndjinn Scott
Award: "Turbo Dork Choice Award"
"Ancestor" | Artist: John Margiotta
Award: "Best View From Behind the Case"
"Rhiannon" | Artist: Roxana Nielsen
Award: "Best Reflective Rainbow"
"Dr. Strange Pez" | Artist: Heather O'Neal
Award: "Awesome Creativity"
"Moonwalking" | Artist: Layne Clemen
Award: Comedy Gold - "Best Pedicure"
"Winter" | Artist: Andrew Cannon
Award: "Most Dreamy"
"Bellow the Boil" | Artist: Raven
Award: "Awesome Light"
"Trench Bunny" | Artist: Matthew Paider
Award: "Best Floof"
"Rotty" | Artist: Joseph Orthober
Award: "Best Evil Pizza Topping"
"King Penguin" | Artist: Esteban Zavala Herrera
Award: "Love and Care"
"Bunny" | Artist: Nicolás Muñoz Corona
Award: “Best Robot Dog”
"Mama Gnoma" | Artist: Alexi Karahaliou
Award: “Perfect Harmony”
"Tiny Space Dog" | Artist: Thomas Aiken
Award: “Bestest Doggo in Space”
"Professor Dr. Dr. Schmidt" | Artist: Christopher Schlegel
Award: “Perfect Gentleman”
“Mystery Machine” | Artist: Allison Siverhair
Award: “World's Goodest Boy”
"Mindflayer" | Artist: Nicholas Duke
Award: “Best Effect Through Finishes”
"Cornel Kirk" | Artist: Guillermo
Award: “Best Bust Weathering”
"Cat Wizard" | Artist: Kelsey Hattam
Award: “Spray Gunner Choice - Color Collector”
“Black No. 1” | Artist: Matthew Cantor
Award: “Best Album I partied To in the 90's”
"Oni" | Artist: Brandon Ryan
Award: “Best Grumpy Demon”
“Gnomelia” | Artist: Evan Walter
Award: “Best Dive Bomber”
"Murlock" | Artist: Joshua Harris
Award: Comedy Gold - Best "mrglmrglmrgl"
"K-2SO" | Artist: Kyle M. Dalton
Award: “Awesome Display”
"Sunrise on a Spartan" | Artist: Kevin Witt
Award: “Best Chest Hair”
"Squonk" | Artist: Steven Wayne
Award: “Relatable Self Portrait”
"Barbarian" | Artist: Derek Clawson
Award: “Best Brave Bottle Guy”
"Titus" | Artist: Daney Rivera
Award: Best "No Fear"
"In Search of the Light Worker" | Artist: Stephanie Krueger
Award: “Craziest Colors”
"Death Leaper" | Artist: Dean Prichard
Award: “Most Traveled”
"Fractured" | Artist: Clarence Prigent
Award: “Best Immersion”
"Skeletons Being A**holes" | Artist: Chris White
Award: “Best Oh Heck! Moment”
"Tirion" | Artist: Bob Cohoon
Award: “Best Stylized Video Game Character”
"The Falconer" | Artist: Alexandre Dos Santos
Award: “Amazing Piece of Art”
"Eleanor" | Artist: Anthony Wang
Award: “So Beautiful I want to cry!”
"Kairn Bloodhoof, High Chieftain" | Artist: Kyle M. Dalton
Award: “Awesome Display”
"All My Sins Remembered" | Artist: Derek Clark
Award: “Best Existential Dread”
"Making the Memories Stop" | Artist: Raven
Award: “Best Kapow!”
"Big Boy" | Artist: Ivan Bocic
Award: “Best Heavy Metal Hug”
"Capricorn" | Artist: Syndjinn Scott
Award: “Girls Choice Award”
"Tuare" | Artist: Jan Soukup
Award: “Best Textures”
"Akito" | Artist: Steven Condon
Award: “Best Splash Page!”
"Distracted" | Artist: Ambrose Coddington
Award: “Best Ooh La La Moment”
"Ole" | Artist: David Phillips
Award: “Best Sculptor”
Minis As Art Celebration & Competition FAQ/Guidelines
Where & When is the Miniatures As Art Celebration?
We will be holding the MAA Celebration & Competition at AdeptiCon 2027, April 7th - 11th!
What models can I enter into the MAA Celebration Competition?
- All single-figure models (vehicles are ok) no larger than 160mm in height are welcome (not including base or frame) and with a base no larger than 120mm in diameter. We will be back with even more info on what you can submit, BUT in general, paint what you want!
- Models that fit the above size criteria and adhere to Adepticon’s standards and code of conduct as well as not promoting sexual themes are welcome. Refer to Adepticon's Conduct Policy HERE.
How do I sign up/submit my model?
Sign ups aren’t live yet, but make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to find out when and how you can sign up!
Who is judging?
You can expect to see many of the same faces as last year like Jason Craze, Dan Ozborne, Vincent Venturella, Krzysztof Kobalczyk, Mally Anderson, and Lukas Zaba!
How will it be judged and what are the prizes/categories?
Much like this past MAA Celebration, the judges will pick out models from the cases that catch their eye, spark their interest, or touch their heart. We had a blast coming up with fun prize names and awards based on the incredible pieces of art that you made! That will still very much be a part and focus of the judging but we will also have some pre-defined awards that we will make public. More information on what those awards will be is coming soon!
Can I enter a model that's won another competition?
Absolutely! We love the ability for you to continue to display and enter your incredible piece. Keep in mind that our judges are familiar with the winning pieces in major competitions.
Can I enter a model that I entered in a previous MAA Celebration competition?
Yes! We encourage you to utilize the feedback of others during the MAA Celebration and the skills you gain over year in-between to make improvements to your piece to enter it again.
Where do babies come from?!
We don’t have solid scientific facts on that, but typically a large bird.
Have more questions?
Email us at support@monumenthobbies.com, or come ask us over on our LIVE Stream 2PM to 4PM MST on Twitch, YouTube, and Kick!
More Info to Come, So Stay Tuned!
We've got much more to tell you, so keep checking back and make sure to sign up for the newsletter to keep on top of all the info! Direct any questions or comments to support@monumenthobbies.com