Rockwood School District: Marquette High Student Earns Top Prize In Congressional Art Competition; Eureka High Grad Places 3rd

Press release from the Rockwood School District:

June 8, 2021

A piece of artwork by rising Marquette High senior Driptaa Chakraborty will be on display in the U.S. Capitol for the next year.

Chakraborty's piece, "Innovation," won the Congressional Art Competition for Missouri's second district. A panel of three judges who are local professional artists chose Chakraborty's work out of a pool of 38 submissions from high school students in the congressional district, which includes portions of St. Louis, Jefferson and St. Charles counties.

Chakraborty will attend a reception for winners from across the country in Washington, D.C., later this year."

I'm really happy that I won and excited to go to D.C.," Chakraborty said. "The fact that it will be in the Capitol, there are so many possibilities of who might see it there. It's fun to think about."

Recently graduated Eureka High student Monica May also placed third in the competition. Her still life, "Past, Present, Future," will be on display in the second district's Ballwin office for the next year."

Innovation," the winning work by Chakraborty, is a portrait of one of her friends as a scientist. She holds a pipette in one gloved hand and an Erlenmeyer flask containing a red liquid in the other.

Chakraborty said she wanted to submit a piece that was relevant to our times, given the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as highlight the important role scientists have played during the pandemic. She used graphite and colored pencils on the piece, as well as pieces of an article about COVID-19 research as part of a collage in the background."

I wanted to show the contribution of scientists and research in the context of the pandemic," Chakraborty said. "Science isn't usually something that's talked about often but, now that we have this pandemic, biological science research has been really brought to the forefront, how important it is and how unknown it is."

Chakraborty said she has been interested in art for as long as she can remember, and she started painting and making crafts in elementary school. She normally likes to produce landscapes but decided to enter a portrait into the congressional competition because she feels they draw the viewer in more.

One of her first conversations after learning the news was with her friend who served as the subject."

I was like, 'Hey, guess what? Your face will be in the Capitol for a year,'" Chakraborty said, with a laugh. "I guess she's happy. She said congratulations and everything.

Monica May, Eureka High

May's piece, "Past, Present, Future," is a still-life drawing with markers and colored pencils depicting objects from around May's house that represent past (a vase, a jar of buttons), present (a burning candle) and future (tarot cards)."I really like using unique and antique objects. I love going to antique malls to find random things, so a few of the pieces shown in the still life reflect that," May said. "I also like using things that have meaning to me. I've always been interested in art. My dad has always been big about getting us to various museums to look at artwork. It's something that we can both enjoy and appreciate together."

May plans to attend Missouri State University in the fall to study business as well as participate in the marching band and try out for the Diamond Girls dance team. She took about two months to complete the piece for her Drawing 2 class and – even if it came in a little late – she was pleased with the final product."

I just needed more and more time to finish it!" May said. "I was very surprised and honored to have received third place in the competition."

This press release was produced by the Rockwood School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.