The New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation, through its Cultural Program, presented the 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration Program “Chalk Painting our Hispanic Heritage: Student Contest” on Saturday, October 1, 2022, from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm at the Peristyle at City Park in New Orleans by Café Du Monde (42 Dreyfous Drive, New Orleans, LA 70124).

The Foundation invited private, parochial, and public high schools in the city to participate in the contest. Eleven schools teams created beautiful works of Art, the execution of the artwork commenced at 9:30 am, and the contest was judged at 12:30 PM by local artist and educator Thomas Walton BFA, MFA, who is the instructor of painting at Southeastern Louisiana University and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of Art; Marcela Correa, BFA, MFA, professional art curator and administrator who has curated several art exhibitions for the Mexican Cultural Institute among other institutions in New Orleans; and local artist and educator Belinda Flores-Shinshillas, BFA, MA.Ed who graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University and LSU, and apprenticed under Mexican muralist Manuel Guillen y Campos Huici in Mexico City.

After the judging process was completed, award certificates were presented by Lauren Mastio, President of the New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation to the winning team with prizes consisting of art supplies courtesy of David Art Center.