Art Competition

Each spring, members of the U.S. House of Representatives sponsor a nation-wide High School art competition, “An Artistic Discovery,” as a way to recognize and encourage the artistic talent of our nation’s youth.

Each Congressional district will select an over-all winner and  each of the participating districts will have the opportunity to display the art work for one year in the U.S. Capitol.  The exhibit in Washington will also include artwork from other contest winners nationwide.

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

Please print the form and either hand deliver or mail it along with your artwork to Congressman Andy Harris at the following address:

100 Olde Point Village, Suite 101

Chester, MD 21619

Phone: 410.643.5425

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The competition is open to high school students only.  Exceptions may be considered  for  7th through 12th grade schools which share one campus. 

All artwork must also be two-dimensional. Each framed piece can be no larger than 28” x 28” x 4” (28 inches high, 28 inches wide, and 4 inches deep) and cannot weigh more than 15 pounds.  If your artwork is selected as the winner, it will be required to be framed and stay within the size guidelines listed above. Artwork accepted mediums are as follows:

  • Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor;
  • •Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (It is recommended that     charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.);
  • •Collage: must be two dimensional;
  • •Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints;
  • •Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor;
  • •Computer-generated art; and/or
  • •Photography

Each entry must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws.  Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo (not the student’s own), painting, graphic, advertisement, or any other work produced by another person is in violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.  Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing).

Artwork will be displayed in the Capitol for the entire year of the exhibition and cannot be returned to the students prior to that time period. Students should, therefore, submit artwork they will not need for other purposes.

The final decision regarding the suitability of all artwork for the Congressional Art Competition exhibition in the Capitol will be made by a panel of qualified persons chaired by the Architect of the Capitol.  Artwork must adhere to the policy of the House Office Building Commission. In accordance with this policy, exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed.  It is necessary that all artwork be reviewed by the panel chaired by the Architect of the Capitol and any portion not in consonance with the Commission’s policy will be omitted from the exhibit.