Between now and February 2015, college students across the state of Louisiana can submit art for the first ever Louisiana River Arts Competition hosted by R. W. Norton Art Gallery. The grand prize? $5,000 cash.

“We just really want to showcase college talent in Louisiana,” says Emily Feazel, Creative and Visual Arts Instructor.

The juried art show will have two rounds of voting, with the first being blind judging online. The top 25 finalists will be notified in March and will send their pieces to the gallery, where they will be exhibited for 6 weeks. An awards dinner will take place at Superior Steakhouse on April 11, 2015 to announce the winners.

Second place winners will receive $3,000, and third, $1,000. There will be two director’s choice pieces, each for a prize of $500.

As for the judges? Chris King of the Louisiana School of Math and Science in Natchitoches and LA A+ Fellow George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts; Jessica Happ, an art conservator in New Orleans and Daniel Cassidy of Shreveport and Little Rock.

“We toyed around the idea of a theme,” said Feazel. “College students just need to be creative, and [we] kind of let them do what they want. We don’t want to put too many limitations on them.”

Feazel added that students can submit something they worked on in class or at home. Accepted mediums include acrylic, oil, pencil, pen, mixed media, and computer graphics. The only medium not accepted is sculpture.

Once the 25 finalists are chosen, the pieces will be property of Norton Gallery, and will travel around the state of Louisiana before being donated to schools in Caddo Parish.

So far, there have been eight submissions from Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

Questions? Call (318) 865-4201 ext 130.