The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts has announced the 15 finalists for its 2019 Art Contest.
The finalists — five juniors and 10 seniors — will be honored March 30 at the Scholarship Award Ceremony at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel and share $45,000 in college scholarships.
Finalists will be awarded first through 15th place and receive scholarships based on place, starting with $6,000 for first place.
The work of the 15 finalists will travel on public view for one year as an exhibition at museums and cultural venues across Louisiana. The school with the most artwork submissions also will be awarded a $1,000 art kit for the school’s art program at the ceremony for submitting the largest number of contest entries.
This year marks the foundation’s 10th anniversary of the statewide art contest. The foundation received more than 740 submissions from high school juniors and seniors across Louisiana, the highest number of contest submissions to date.
The 2019 finalists are:
Juniors: Caroline Dazzio, St. Joseph’s Academy, Baton Rouge; Abby Hayes, St. Scholastica Academy, Covington; Lauren Baquet, St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette; Greyson Dutile, Southside High School, Youngsville; and Zoe Treitler, Lakeshore High School, Mandeville
Seniors: Lauren Diaz, Christian Life Academy, Baton Rouge; Madelyn Galatas, St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette; Raine Wyandon, Zachary High School, Zachary; Anna Claire Graham, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport; Logan Babin, Vanderbilt Catholic High School, Houma; Ben Leethy, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport; My-Nhi Nguyen, Thomas Jefferson High School for Advanced Studies, Gretna; Maddie Toler, St. Joseph’s Academy, Baton Rouge; Abbygail Nickels, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport; Gabrielle Boutte, St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette; Yilin Zheng, Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Baton Rouge; and Katherine Taylor, St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette.
This year’s theme, the “Cosmos,” was a constant source of mystery and inspiration for Rodrigue, according to a news release from the foundation.
Ten artists and industry representatives from around the state judged the artwork on concept/design (Does the artwork address the theme in a clear and inventive way?), technical skill (Does the artwork show an understanding of visual art principles such as use of color, shading, light and form?) and creativity (Does the artwork showcase an original point of view? Does it provide a fresh perspective on the theme?).
Founded by artist George Rodrigue in 2009, the annual contest has received more than 6,200 entries from across Louisiana and awarded a combined $411,500 in scholarships to 151 students.
For more information, visit georgerodriguefoundation.org.