A Piece of the Past Museum Essay Contest
“A Piece of the Past” Museum Essay Contest was inaugurated in 2010-2011 to encourage student research into the artifacts of the Dunham Bible Museum, the Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts, and the Museum of Southern History.
Funding for the contest has been generously provided by The Joella and Stewart Morris Foundation and Mr. Isaac Heimbinder.
2025 Piece of the Past Award Winners
Grand Prize Winner
Sarah Benitez Mendoza – Witness to the Exodus: Art of Survival and Resilience
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
Claire Wilkerson – 1st place – The Colonel’s Pajamas:The Gustave Cook Collection
Aaron Huegel – 2nd place – Democratizing Images: The Ferrotype of Four Wilson Daughters
Dunham Bible Museum
Nico Kross – 1st place – “Jesus the Light of the World”: A Sermon on Canvas
Quincey Prickett – 2nd place – Misidentified Torah Scroll
Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts
Ella Ritter – 1st place – A Modern Moses: Echoes of Jewish History in Chagall’s “Exodus”
Sam Zeeman, 2nd place – “The Last Judgment” and Life’s True Worth
First/HCU Academy
Blessing Ogudo – 1st place – Sewing Machine 1900: An Exploration of the Treadle
Raquel Alvarez Amaya – 2nd place – The Heretical Gospel: The Jefferson Bible
Honorable Mentions
Aidan Deleon, Claire Wilkerson, Mason Cala, Savannah Plowman, Matthew Blanchard, Alyz Fisj, Ella Ritter, Valeria Rojas, Scarlett Sisk, Delight Igwilo, Niang Muan, Michael Nri, Salah Lowery, Dre’Anna Janae Spivey, William Aguirre, Esther Stenmetz, Marissa Diaz, Leena Bouchenni, Andrew Castro, Sam Zeeman
2024 Piece of the Past Award Winners
Grand Prize Winner
Leena Bouchenni, “Tyndale’s Last Prayer”
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Place – Josiah Carr, “Brick from Pine Slash”
2nd Place – Mason Cala, “Slave Bill of Sale, 1848”
Claire Wilkerson, “Artworks of the Household: The Story of Virginia Maxwell”
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Place – Ella Ritter, “Tyndale’s Conquest: A New Testament for All English People”
2nd Place – Corinne Sandifer, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin“
Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts
1st Place – Abdil Galan-Torres, “Freedom”
2nd Place – Kace Conway, “A Piece of the Best Story Ever Told: Icon of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem”
Freshman/HCU Academy
1st Place – Dillon Floyd, “A Bedouin Shepherd’s Discovery”
2nd Place – Samantha Ponce de Leon, “The Impact of Epergne”
Honorable Mention
Yaqub Ajisefini, Andrew Beal, Ashley Borges, Mason Cala, Oliver Dickman, Christina Gutierrez, Grant Keiffer, Joshua Larkins, Jayson Mendez, Dario Pantoja, Adrian Ramirez, Victoria Rodriguez, Monica Ruiz, Dre’Anna Janae Spivey, Esther Steinmetz, Peter-Adonai Tita. Toby Tulenko, Kevin Welsh, Sam Zeeman