Christopher Johnson of Shirley High School in Van Buren County is the winner of Arkansas's 2nd District 2007 Congressional High School Art Competition.  Congressman Vic Snyder announced the winner at the opening of the exhibition at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Fine Arts Building on Friday, May 4th.

In an interesting twist this year, all four top placements were from Shirley High School.  Jeremiah Gustus, Mason Kane Haynes, and Michelle Raab, all from Shirley, received honorable mention awards and a $25 gift certificate.  Tonya Wentzel is the Shirley High art teacher.  The judging was administered blindly, without knowledge of schools or names.

The annual Congressional High School Art Competition gives one student from each Congressional District in the nation the opportunity to have his or her work displayed in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.  Christopher’s winning entry was a color pencil piece entitled “Shades of Memory.”

The 2007 Congressional Art Competition had 49 entries from Benton, Bryant, Hall, Harmony Grove in Haskell, JA Fair, Jacksonville, Judsonia, Oak Grove, Mills, Mount Saint Mary’s Academy, North Pulaski in Jacksonville, Shirley, and Southside/Bee Branch.

In a cooperative agreement with Congressman Snyder, UALR administered and judged the competition.  The winner was awarded a custom-made frame to display his collage and three round trip tickets to Washington, DC to attend the opening of the national exhibit at the Capitol on June 28th. Christopher was also offered a $5000 renewable scholarship, should he choose to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.

“The UALR Art Department always does an exceptional job in helping with the art competition, and we truly appreciate their hard work,” said Congressman Vic Snyder. “I was very pleased to see generous donations for our student winners again this year of round trip fares from Southwest Airlines, a customized framing from Work of Art in Little Rock, gift certificates from Barnes and Noble."