The Winners

From November 14 to 16, 2025, we we hosted the World Bodypainting Festival’s Online Awards. Over three inspiring days, we welcomed artists from around the world to join us virtually and showcase their exceptional talent in face and bodypainting.

We dedicated each day to a specific competition category:

• November 14: Facepainting Category
• November 15: Brush & Sponge Bodypainting Category
• November 16: Airbrush Bodypainting Category

With nearly 200 submissions from more than 30 nations, we witnessed an extraordinary display of imagination, skill, and artistic passion that highlighted the global spirit of our community.

On November 22, 2025, the contest ended with the official Award Show Live on YouTube, bringing artists, fans, and the entire bodypainting family together to watch what happenend in this year and to present the winners of the three categories.

The full livestream is still available to watch - completely uncut, live, and with all the little bloopers...

We would also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our distinguished jury — Claudia Krämer, Ernst Wieser, Houyam Hajlaoui, Johannes Stötter, and Matteo Arfanotti. Thank you for your time, your expertise, and your exceptional professionalism. Your dedication and thoughtful evaluations played a crucial role in shaping the WBF Online Awards 2025, and we deeply appreciate the passion and commitment you brought to this year’s competition.

Online-Award: Brush / Sponge Bodypainting

Theme: Freedom vs. Control

In the Brush & Sponge category, we invited artists to explore one of humanity’s most enduring struggles. This powerful theme opened the door to interpretations of liberation and limitation, individuality and obedience, personal choice and external pressure. Through every brushstroke and every textured layer, the artists transformed the human body into a canvas of resistance, surrender, balance, and breaking free.

Online Award: Facepainting

In der Kategorie Facepainting luden wir die Künstlerinnen und Künstler dazu ein, sich mit dem Thema „Sacred Faces: Painted traditions of the world“ auf eine Reise durch Kulturen, Geschichten und traditionelle Bräuche ihrer Vorfahren zu begeben. Dieses Thema feierte die zeitlose Kunst der Gesichtsbemalung – von alten Ritualen und spirituellen Zeremonien bis hin zu festlichen Traditionen, die bis heute kulturelle Identität prägen. Jede gemalte Linie, jedes Symbol und jede Farbe erzählte eine Geschichte und spiegelte das Erbe und die Bedeutung wider, die über Generationen weitergegeben wurden.

Wir waren tief berührt davon, wie einfühlsam und respektvoll die KünstlerInnen mit diesem globalen Mosaik an Traditionen umgingen. Mit ihren Werken ehrten sie nicht nur die kulturelle Bedeutung des Facepaintings, sondern brachten auch ihre eigene künstlerische Handschrift ein und verwandelten jedes Modell in eine lebendige Erzählung heiliger Ausdrucksformen.

Es ist uns eine Freude, die Gewinnerinnen der Online Awards: Facepainting 2025 zu gratulieren:
1. Platz: Erika Arizmendi (Mexiko)
2. Platz: Silvia Vitali (Italien)
3. Platz: Federica Rigozzo (Italien)

Ihre außergewöhnlichen Arbeiten fingen den Geist von „Sacred Faces“ mit bemerkenswerter Sensibilität, Kreativität und künstlerischer Tiefe ein.

Online Award: Airbrush category

Theme: What Money Should Buy

In the Airbrush category, we invited artists to confront one of the most pressing questions of our time: What should money truly buy? This theme challenged participants to look beyond materialism and explore the deeper values that shape our lives - happiness, health, security, time, dignity, or even the integrity of the human spirit. Through the smooth gradients and precise details that only airbrush art can achieve, the artists examined the tension between consumerism and humanity, provoking reflection on what money can, cannot, and should never buy.

It is our honor to congratulate the winners of the Online Award: Airbrush Bodypainting 2025:
1st Place: Kazim Christophe Cwikla (Poland)
2nd Place: Alexis Arenas (Mexico)
3rd Place: Alexander Hansen

Their artworks captured the theme with striking clarity and creativity, each presenting a unique perspective on the true worth of the things we hold dear.