Art Competition

Every spring, the United States House of Representatives sponsors the Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery for high school students across our nation. The annual competition provides an opportunity for students across the country to exhibit their artwork and receive national recognition. The competition also symbolizes the important role that the arts play in American society.

The Congressional Art Competition is open to all local high schools in the 20th Congressional District. Each school can submit up to five (5) works of art that display the best of what their students have to offer.  All submissions are due by May 1, 2017.

The first place winning entry from each congressional district is displayed in the corridor tunnel of the U.S. Capitol Building for one year, where it is seen by thousands of people. The first place winner will receive two roundtrip tickets to Washington, D.C. from Southwest Airlines, and will join students from across the country to be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C. in mid-June.

The Artistic Discovery competition encourages and recognizes the right artistic talents of young Americans. Students are allowed to submit various styles and types of art, ranging from paintings and drawings to photography and mixed media pieces. The winners will be determined using criteria based on originality, skill of execution, excellence in use of materials and conceptual strength of the project. A local reception to announce the winner will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at the Hollister Veterans’ Memorial Building, 649 San Benito Street, Hollister, CA 95023 at 5:00 p.m.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artist talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nation-wide competition.

For further questions and full details, please contact Bertha Munoz in my Salinas office at (831) 424-2229.