NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) –The annual Rau for Art scholarship competition is underway! During this competition high school artists compete for scholarship money by creating artwork.

Rebecca Rau is the Executive Director for the Rau for Art Foundation and says, “we founded Rau for Art back in 2012. It was a celebration of us being in business for 100 years. We wanted to give back to the community of New Orleans. It’s a community that allowed us to succeed and also helped us to nurture young creatives. It’s a time of great pride for us here at the gallery, when every year, we get to exhibit these talented students’ works alongside the work of our history’s greats!”

The theme of this year’s competition is “Presidential Portraits.” The students were asked to create a self portrait based off of the kind of world they would want to envision, if they were Commander in Chief.

Esban Jareth Avila Santos is a high school junior and created an homage to Latin American countries like Honduras. In his portrait is a macaw parrot and powerful lettering that portrays social issues.

“I wanted to do a side profile that was looking forward to represent me as president, looking into the future and leaving the past behind. I’m leaving fear, violence and corruption. I’m looking ahead of me because I want a brighter future for my country and other countries that are suffering as well,” says Santos.

Caitlyn Ordone is a high school senior who is bound to study business management at the historically black, Howard University and describes her painting, saying, “my piece was about empowerment for women and caring for the environment. Climate change is one of the biggest issues that needs to be made aware of. In my piece, I have positioned behind me an open curtain with autumn foliage behind me, to shed light on the issue. It’s a metaphor of opening the veil. The curtain color is also purple, which is reminiscent of my childhood bedroom.”

Wanda Hu is a high school sophomore who made a fiery portrait using impressionism and says, “It’s a self portrait of me as a president, kind of like the Greek mythology where Atlas wears the weight of the world on his shoulders. That is how I see myself. I’m having the world on my shoulders. I wanted to depict myself as this person fighting for global change and global warming.”

Art’s reason in humanity is open for interpretation. For some, art is meant to be beautiful. For others, art is meant to illuminate the concerns of the world. All art is meant to make the viewers and the artist feel something and each student certainly accomplishes that task.

“Artists love to use their art to express their beliefs. I find that a lot of adult commercial artists don’t have as much freedom to do so, if they are trying to make a living. At this stage, the students are refining their talents and practices. They are also using art as a platform to get their words out,” says Rebecca Rau.

There are four scholarship winners and the first place winner has the opportunity to accept studying art abroad, during a summer in Italy. The awards ceremony for Rau for Art, is Saturday. To see the brilliant work of the students, find out who the winners are and learn more, click here.