Belleville’s Art on the Square announces top artist award winners

Andrew Rola, this year’s Best of Show winner at Art on the Square, said he imagines his paintings coming to life with every brush stroke.

Others can see his vision through an app he created, as many experienced this weekend at his booth. By simply pointing the camera at his work, gears start to turn, wings flap — it all depends on the piece.

“My main goal is to get kids interested in art and show that you can be an artist and scientist and mathematician all at the same time,” the St. Louis-area artist said.

As the 2026 Best in Show winner, Rola received a $5,000 cash prize and a waived application fee for next year’s show.

Here are the other winners from the downtown Belleville art festival:

Best in Category, $1,500 prize:

1. Carlos Montanaro - Jewelry

2. Brian Doyle - Photography (film or digital)

3. Ludmila Gancova - Fine Craft

4. Alex Grimmer - Mixed Media

5. Jef Raasch - Ceramics

6. Jeff Easley - Wood

7. Greta Sandquist - Painting

8. Tony Cray - Glass

9. Kevin Whetstone - Sculpture

10. Robin Lauersdorf - Drawing/Printmaking

11. Shawn Harris - Digital/Graphic Design

Awards of Excellence, $500 prize:

Andy Rogers - Ceramics

Jeremy and Chelsea Griffith - Glass

Grace Sullivan - Glass

Brian Teixeira - Wood

Stephen Wheeler - Painting

Nolan Prohaska - Glass

Reinhard Herzog - Glass

William Kwamena-Poh - Painting

Honorable Mention sponsored by SWIC, $3,000 prize:

McKenzie Grimmer - Mixed Media

The Honorable Mention award also includes an invitation to return next year and a waived application fee.

Greensfelder Purchase Award, $1,500:

Jennifer Boles - Wood

Barb King Jewelry Award, $500 prize

Sara Kharatyan - Jewelry

Art on the Square Committee Purchase Award, $1,500:

Kevin Whetstone - Sculpture

Joan Voss Renner Award, $1,500:

Stephen Wheeler - Painting - “Sandwich Islands”

Memorial Hospital Purchase Award, $2,500:

Ludmila Gancova - Original Textile Art