I had the same questions, and here is how I’m interpreting it:
For the essay I’m going with creative non-fiction, because I don’t believe they want us to write an analytical essay, since that would reveal little about who we are as applicants. I think most of the essays will be about charity events people organized, clubs they started, fundraisers they led, etc. , but I think it would also be cool to focus on a specific act of small kindness.
For the art component, I was thinking they literally meant submit art that was perhaps an exposé of reflection on a current social issue. If you’ve done any work that could be viewed as social commentary, or perhaps murals or commissioned pieces for school or other organizations, I think that would be appropriate.