NOCCA Student Wins 2026 Rau for Art Italy Trip

Gracie Eckstein, from Kristin Core (M.S. Rau Marketing)

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Gracie Eckstein, an 11th-grade student at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), was chosen as the winner of the 2026 Rau for Art Scholarship Competition. 

Eckstein was awarded the $10,000 winning prize for her painting “Shalom Aleichem” at a ceremony at the M.S. Rau gallery on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The Rau for Art Foundation strives to support arts appreciation and education in the schools of Greater New Orleans by assisting talented young artists in reaching their academic and professional goals through the Art Scholarship Competition and the Teacher Assistance Fund.

Both Rau for Art initiatives serve students and teachers in the following Louisiana Parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany and St. Charles.

About the 2026 Rau for Art Scholarship Competition

Since its launch in 2012, Rau for Art has received nearly 1,200 works of art submitted by students and has gifted nearly $200,000 in scholarships and art supplies.   

For 2026, over 200 students from different parishes submitted works around the theme “Lights, Shadows & Everything in Between.” The theme invited students to explore the interplay between illumination and obscurity, not just as a technique, but as a narrative. 

Students were asked to consider how light moves across environments, how shadows shape spaces and how landscapes—natural or urban—can become stages for visual storytelling through light.  

Eleven student finalists were chosen by a panel of experts and their works were on exhibit at the M.S. Rau gallery and at www.rauforart.com.

The four 2026 Rau for Art scholarship winners:

• First Place, Gracie Eckstein – $10,000 or trip to Italy – 11th grade
  • “Shalom Aleichem,” New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts
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    “Shalom Aleichem” by Gracie Eckstein

• Second Place, Zoe Estrada  – $5,000 – 12th grade
  • “Light of My Life,” Alfred Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School
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    “Light of My Life” by Zoe Estrada

• Third Place, Maddie Caputo – $3,000 – 12th grade
  • “Sitting with the Past,” New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts
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    “Sitting with the Past” by Maddie Caputo

• Fourth Place, Hannah Wen – $2,000 – 12th grade
  • “Home,” Haynes Academy
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    “Home” by Hannah Wen

“It is incredibly rewarding to witness the passion and originality these students bring to their work,” said Rau for Art Executive Director Sherri McKenna. “This scholarship is our way of encouraging them to keep creating, growing and believing in their artistic voice. This competition is about more than awards – it’s about empowering the next generation of artists.”