Art Contest - Canvas of Community

Dr. Sanders is excited to announce “Canvas of Community – Scenes Painted by St. Mary Students,” a district-wide student art contest celebrating the communities, culture, history, and people that make St. Mary Parish a special place to call home.

Students in grades K–12 are invited to submit original artwork depicting their interpretation of life in St. Mary Parish. Artwork may feature local landmarks, waterways, wildlife, industries, traditions, architecture, history, festivals, schools, or other meaningful aspects of our parish. Across the completed collection, the district seeks to recognize St. Mary Parish’s municipalities—Amelia, Baldwin, Berwick, Bayou Vista, Centerville, Franklin, Morgan City, and Patterson—as well as the surrounding communities that contribute to our parish’s unique identity.

Twelve (12) student artists and their artwork will be selected district wide. Once the 12 winners are chosen, the students will be required to paint the sound canvases with their winning submission. The original student paintings on the sound panel canvases will be displayed in the Board Room.

Each winner’s design will become part of a permanent art installation in the St. Mary Parish School Board Room. The completed collection will be unveiled during the first regular School Board meeting of 2027 on Thursday, January 7, 2027, in recognition of Louisiana School Board Member Recognition Month.

Students should submit their original designs on an 8-by-10-inch portrait sheet of white paper or card stock. Because the final sound panels will be vertical, all entries should use portrait orientation.

Students are encouraged to create bold, colorful designs with clear imagery that can be successfully enlarged onto the final panels.

All entries must be original student work. Entries should not contain copyrighted characters, company logos, political messages, inappropriate imagery, or artificial intelligence generated artwork. Adults may provide instruction and encouragement, but the submitted artwork must reflect the student’s own ideas and artistic work.

Packets will be available in the main office for participants to submit their parent/guardian permission and release forms along with their artwork. All entries will be collected by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 2026. Should you have any questions or concerns, please email Ms. Fallon Mitchell or Mrs. Gidget Everitt.

Parent Permission

Parent Permission Form (Printable PDF)

Submission Requirements

1. Open to all currently enrolled St. Mary Parish Public Schools students in grades K–12.
2. Each student may submit one entry.
3. Artwork must be created on an 8 × 10-inch vertical sheet of white paper or card stock.
4. Designs should be created in portrait orientation to correspond with the final 2 × 4-foot panels.
5. Artwork must be original and created by the student submitting it.
6. Students may use acrylic, colored pencils, crayons, markers, paint, pastels, ink, collage materials, watercolors, or a combination of traditional media.
7. The artwork should reflect St. Mary Parish’s municipalities, surrounding communities, culture, heritage, environment, traditions, landmarks, or future.
8. Designs should use bold colors, recognizable imagery, and clear composition so they can be enlarged and painted successfully by the student artist.
9. Entries must not include copyrighted characters, commercial logos, political endorsements, inappropriate content, or artificial intelligence-generated images. Words are not permitted unless they are part of the official name of a building or landmark.
10. A completed parent/guardian permission form must accompany each entry.
11. The student’s name should not appear on the front of the artwork.
12. The student’s name, grade, school, artwork title, and represented community should be written on the back or attached using the official entry label.

Important Contest Dates

• Thursday, October 1–Friday, October 30, 2026: Student design and submission period.
• Friday, October 30, 2026: Student entries and parent permission forms are due to the main office at their school.
• Monday, November 2, 2026: Student entries will be collected by Ms. Fallon Mitchell or Mrs. Gidget Everitt.
• Tuesday, November 3–Friday, November 6, 2026: District judging and final selection.
• Monday, November 9, 2026: Winners and alternates notified.
• Friday, November 13, 2026: Winner participation confirmations and required forms due.
• Monday, November 16–Friday, November 20, 2026: Design consultations, panel assignments, and enlargement planning.
• Monday, November 30–Friday, December 11, 2026: Final panel creation period.
• Monday, December 14–Friday, December 18, 2026: Touch-ups, sealing, labeling, and final painting.
• Monday, January 4, 2027: Final panel inspection.
• Tuesday, January 5–Wednesday, January 6, 2027: Board Room installation and showcase preparation.
• Thursday, January 7, 2027: Grand Showcase and School Board Meeting unveiling.