Congressional Art Competition

Each spring, a nation-wide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Artistic Discovery Contest is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent in the nation, as well as in north central Indiana.

The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students in Indiana's second district. The over-all winner of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit in Washington will also include artwork from other contest winners nation-wide.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 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 nationwide competition.

2010 Congressional Art Competition Winner Briqlyn Mohrman of Elkhart, Indiana and Elkhart Central High School. Her piece entitled No World Without You is an ink, oil pastel, and water color piece on fabric.

Deadline for Submission:

The deadline for all submitted work for the South Bend District Office is April 9^th by 6 pm and April 5^th by 3 pm at the Logansport District Office.

Eligibility Guidelines:

Participants must be currently enrolled in a high school or an educational equivalent within the 2nd Congressional District of Indiana. To see if you live in the 2nd district, click here.
Art work must be two dimensional but can be in virtually any medium, such as those listed below.
- Paintings: oil, acrylic, watercolor, etc.
- Drawings: pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers, etc.
- Prints: lithograph, silkscreen, block prints, etc.
- Mixed media
- Collage
- Computer-generated and digital art
- Photography
Each piece, including the frame, must fit within 28”x28”x4” (28 inches high, 28 inches wide, 4 inches deep). Please note that framing is not required for participation, though matting is encouraged. However, the winning submission will be framed by district, so please take the height and weight restrictions into account.
Art work, including frame, cannot exceed 15 lbs in weight.
Each piece must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws.
Artwork must be appropriate for display within the Capitol as determined by the Architect of the Capitol. In accordance with the policies of the House Office Building Commission, pieces depicting current political controversy or gruesome subjects cannot be accepted for display.
Artwork will be displayed for the entire year of the exhibition and cannot be returned earlier. Students should, therefore, submit art they will not need for other purposes.
If the artwork is abstract, please indicate on the back which side is points upwards with arrows so that the work can be hung correctly.
The guidelines are available here.

Submission Form Guidelines:

A Student Information and Release Form needs to be submitted with the art work. The form is available here.
The information and release form should be typed and securely attached to the back of the piece.
The information and release form must be signed by the student, a parent or guardian and the art teacher.
Each piece should have a typed label securely attached to the back of the artwork.
- This label should incorporate the student’s name, the title of the piece and medium only. The school and age of the student should not be displayed to avoid bias among the judges. Generally, 18 point font, Times New Roman text works very well for this. For label examples, click here.