With the
pandemic this year, a lot of people discovered hidden talents. Some talents
they knew were there the whole time, but the pandemic allowed them to better
their skills. For the second year, The George Rodrigue Foundation of the
Arts and the Trombone Shorty Foundation
will have art and songwriting contests for high school juniors and seniors in
Louisiana. The theme for the contest this year is "Alone Together: Art in the Time of Pandemic."
The
foundations encourage students to reflect on their year and how it affected
their life and to put this feeling into their work. The winners will receive a
combined total of $25,000 in college scholarships, and 10 artists and three
songwriters will be selected. When creating artwork or songs, the foundations
want the artists to think about how disaster and disease have shaped art
throughout history, how their lives have personally changed because of
COVID-19, what they miss from before the pandemic, and their hopes for the
future.
For the art
contest, artists will be judged on concept and design, technical skill, and
creativity. The judges will select 10 finalists to share $19,000 in college
scholarships. All winning creations will travel across multiple cities in
Louisiana to be exhibited.
Songwriters
will be judged on structure and composition, melody, and lyrics. The song must
be two to five minutes long, and it must be an original piece by the person
submitting it. To submit your song, you must create a profile on Soundcloud and
upload your music sample. You will share the link to your profile on your
application. The judges will select three winners to share $6,000 in college
scholarships, along with additional prizes to be announced.
The deadline
for the contest is Friday, February 26, 2021. Submissions can be submitted here.
There is no GPA requirement, and contestants are not required to be studying
art or music to receive scholarship awards. The awards ceremony will take place
virtually, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
