Mahdi’s involvement with the attraction was previously announced; her first painting is homed at famed restaurant Dooky Chase, which was led by the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” and Tiana inspiration, the late Leah Chase. Combining Chase’s legacy with the artistic sensibilities that Mahdi infuses in her vision of New Orleans, under the guidance of Carter, really speaks to the power of women who are behind Tiana’s new story. Mahdi is the living embodiment of New Orleans’ legacy, which is emphasized in her art. “I wanted to include imagery of those things and represent the movie that represents the state of Louisiana, the city of New Orleans but also, in my artistic style,” she shared while presenting her final painting in her Tiana’s Bayou Adventure series. “So this is part of our past connection. I wanted to put a mother and daughter as the centerpiece with the father. The theme of this piece is family and family tradition; I wanted to make sure that was centered, and then surrounding it I wanted to include flourishes of what represents Louisiana.”

You really have to look at every fine detail in Mahdi’s piece above. Even as a first-time visitor to New Orleans, I recognized so much of how the city moves and exudes life is beautifully represented there. “When I think of being from Louisiana, of course I grew up in shotgun houses,” Mahdi recalled, paying homage to her past and the history of her city as she motioned to other figures including Tiana, “…the Mardi Gras Indians, the steamboat, the streetcar, of course you have representation of the bayou swamps with the alligator. You have the famous beignets, a little bit of French Quarter with St. Louis Cathedral, the spoon and pots in the back the whimsical nature of that, and then you have it spliced with music notes from the piano—which is which I think is very iconic of New Orleans. I wanted to tell the story of family tradition because I feel like we’ve talked about how that’s such an important part of herself, having a family support for her, because she was a dreamer like many of us. She represented many of us little girls and women who had a strong mother there and father that encouraged her to pursue her dreams despite obstacles she been through.” 

It was really sweet that Mahdi had her mother and current members of the YAYA program in attendance for the unveiling.