My Submission Won!

I'm honored to be named the 2026 Featured Artist for Mississippi in the Park.

Someone pinch me, I still can’t believe it!

Monday, I discovered that I won the Mississippi in the Park art contest, making me this year’s featured artist! Praise the Lord! I’m honored to be a part of such an iconic event this summer!

(You can visit their website for more information about this year’s “family reunion” gathering.)

Now that the winner has been announced, I can include my final submission here.

Mississippi in the Park, 2026

Since finding out, I’ve been brainstorming what I’d like to present at the event, thinking through how many pieces I should make, whether I should find frames for them ahead of time, and what the subject matter will be. I could present New York drawings, the park, more storefronts, or unusual scenes that just make sense in the city.

I once saw an electrician changing a stoplight in the middle of Times Square. Of all the blinding lights surrounding us, a simple red light was receiving special attention. I thought it would make for an interesting drawing.

However, this group of event goers will know the Mississippi references, and when else could I bring a piece of home to the city through art? That’s what Mississippi in the Park is all about. I landed on this yesterday when I passed a newly cut lawn in Central Park, and the smell alone reminded me of a Mississippi summer day. Filling my lungs to their limit, I smelled a hint of hose water and the melting nylon of a slip n slide. Suddenly, I was transported.

Heat.

Banana popsicles.

Bare feet.

Sticky grass.

Summer cicadas.

Growing up, I confused cicadas with the sound of heat itself, made by the blurry waves radiating off the black asphalt roads. Days I heard long, agonizing croaks meant a body of water was necessary if we wanted to be outside.

A slip n slide was always a fun option to cool off, and popsicles were required to restore lost energy from flinging our bodies to the ground in hopes of sliding like a penguin to the very end.

So there I was, in Central Park, dreaming of banana popsicles and the sound of summer.

I’ve decided Mississippi scenes will be my focus for this event. There might be a few New York pieces in the mix, but family reunions are about being reunited with kin, sharing stories to remind each other, and including those who weren’t there to experience the fun. I think I’d like to invite scenes of the South to join the party; the landscape feels like family anyway.

I’ll be in Mississippi in May for a wedding, and what better way to get reacquainted with friends and family? My sketchbook will be the first thing I pack.

Thanks for reading! Talk to you soon,

Gracey