NOCCA Art Student Wins Krewe of Muses 2025 Cup Contest
12th Grader Piper Schaumburg’s Design to Adorn 100,000 Cups to be Thrown from Floats in the Iconic All-Female Carnival Krewe
The Krewe of Muses announced the winner of the 2025 cup contest today. Piper Schaumburg, a 12th-grade art student at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), designed the signature cup that will be thrown by Krewe members when the popular Carnival parade rolls on February 27th. This year marks a major milestone for Muses which celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Each year, the all-female Krewe of Muses conducts a contest among high school students to create artwork printed on the thousands of cups thrown from floats by its 1,200-plus Krewe members. The Krewe expects to throw approximately 100,000 cups along the parade route this year. Schaumburg will receive a $500 stipend from the Krewe of Muses and her art teacher will receive a $500 grant for art supplies from BeNOLA.
The design was chosen for its depiction of a powerful female figure, Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory and mother of the nine muses who were the patrons of art and knowledge the daughters of Zeus in Greek mythology, said Susan Gisleson, a long-time member who serves on the cup design selection committee.
“I love the fact that we are honoring the goddess of memory as we celebrate and look back on 25 years of a quarter-century parading in New Orleans,” Gisleson said. “There is no knowledge or culture without memory.”
Mnemosyne is the central image of the cup and appears to be calling on the tides of the River of Memory, symbolized by her dress, with dynamic silhouettes of the Muses and Mount Olympus in the background. Schaumburg made Mnemosyne’s robes blue and made them transform into flowing water to represent the waters where she gave birth to the nine muses in the sacred springs.
“There is so much history behind the Muses and Mnemosyne that a plain portrait could not do them justice, so I made sure to research Mnemosyne to tie in some of the lore,” said Schaumburg. “And, of course, I could not make a Muses cup without the muses themselves, so I drew them in her river of robes to commemorate where they were born.”
Schaumburg said Muses was the first Mardi Gras parade she ever attended, and it holds a special place in her heart.
“I look forward to the Muses parade every year and, not to brag, but I have quite the shoe collection,” she said. “I’m so excited and honored to be part of this year’s parade! I have been telling everyone I know, and I’m making sure they will all be going to Muses to catch a cup.”
