Little Rock – Congressman Vic Snyder announced today the kick-off of the annual Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery, for high school students from Arkansas’s Second Congressional District. Each year the United States Congress sponsors the Congressional Art Competition to recognize the creative abilities of high school students, and to increase national awareness of their artistic talents.  Students compete in a local contest, and the winning piece of art from each district is displayed as part of the national exhibit in the Cannon Tunnel, a pedestrian walkway leading to the U.S. Capitol.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Art will again administer and judge the annual competition.  The winner will receive three free airline tickets to attend a Washington D.C. reception on June 28.  Entries not chosen as the winner will be featured in an exhibit at UALR from May 4 to June 1.

High school students who live in Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District--Conway, Faulkner, Perry, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, White, and Yell counties--are eligible for the competition. All artwork submitted must be original and may include work from the following mediums: paintings, drawings, collages, photography, computer-generated works, mixed media, and prints. Masks and sculptures are not permitted.

Deadline for submission of artwork for the competition is 5pm on Friday, April 27th, 2007.  The winner will be announced at a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 4th, in Gallery III, Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  Entries should be mailed or hand-delivered by April 27th to:  Congressional Art Competition, c/o UALR Art Department, 2nd Floor, Fine Arts Building, 2801 South University, Little Rock, AR  72204-1099   Attn.: Brad Cushman  (501)-569-8977.

For more information, and the forms necessary to enter, contact Congressman Vic Snyder's Little Rock office at (501) 324-5941, or visit http://www.house.gov/snyder/services/art_programs.htm

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