Each spring, the U.S. House of Representatives sponsors the Congressional Art Competition, "An Artistic Discovery" for high school students nation-wide. The competition highlights the important role the arts play in American society. It encourages and recognizes the rich artistic talents of our country's youth and gives them the opportunity to show their artistic skills. The competition is open to multiple artistic mediums, including photography.

General Guidelines for Participation are as Follows:

• The competition is open to high school students only. Exceptions will be made for schools that have 7th through 12th grades in one building. Each Member office can choose whether or not to include 7th and 8th grades in the art show if there are schools in their district that fit these criteria.
• In order to allow an artwork to hang in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol, the following restrictions are necessary:
  
  • Piece must be two-dimensional
  • Each piece can be no larger than 30 inches by 30 inches to the outside dimensions of the frame (change from previous years)
  • No more than 4 inches in depth
  • Artwork must arrive in Washington by the time specified and framed to the appropriate framing guidelines (see below)
  • Artwork will hang in the Capitol for the entire year of the exhibition and cannot be returned to students earlier. Students, therefore, should submit artwork they will not need for other purposes.
    
• Artwork categories are as follows:
• Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
• Drawings: pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers
• Collage: must be two-dimensional
• Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints
• Mixed media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, etc.
• Computer generated art
• Photography
  
• A copy of the Student Release Form, signed by both the teacher and the student, must be attached to the artwork to certify the originality of the piece.
  
• Each entry must be an original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws. Note: Any entry which has been reproduced from an existing photo, painting, graphic, advertisement or any other work produced by another person is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.
  
• The final decision regarding suitability for exhibition in the Capitol is left to a panel of qualified persons chaired by the Architect of the Capitol. While it is not the intent to censor any artwork, we do wish to avoid artwork that is potentially inappropriate for display in the Capitol.

Students must submit their entries through their high school art department. If you are interested in participating in the Artistic Discovery competition or would like more information, please contact Jan Churchill in my Las Vegas office at 702-220-9823.