CONGRESSMAN SNYDER CALLS FOR ENTRIES TO CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION

Little Rock – U.S. Representative 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 free airline tickets to attend a Washington D.C. reception on June 28. New this year are four book scholarships worth $300 each for the top four placements. Entries not chosen as the winner will be featured in an exhibit at UALR from May 15 to June 5.

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.

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 and may submit one work per person. Entries submitted in the local competition will not require a frame; however, the winning entry must be framed when mailed to Washington, D.C. (complimentary custom framing will be provided by a local professional.) The winning piece may not be larger than 30-by-30 inches including the frame. An artwork release/student entry form must accompany each work submitted. The entry form must be signed by the teacher and the student to certify originality of the art piece.

Deadline for submission of artwork for the competition is 5pm on Monday, May 8th, 2006. The winner will be announced at a reception at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 15th, in Gallery III, Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Entries should be mailed or hand-delivered by May 8th 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.