Osseo High School Student Jill Ohman Wins Third Congressional District Art Contest

Student Receives Award from Rep. Erik Paulsen, Will Have Artwork Displayed in Capitol for One Year

EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. - Osseo High School Student, Jill Ohman was recently awarded the grand prize in this year’s Congressional Art Competition for Minnesota’s Third District.  Representative Erik Paulsen, who organized the competition, presented the award to Ohman during a ceremony at the Bloomington Theatre & Art Center.   Ohman will travel to Washington, D.C. next month to see her winning artwork “Sticks and Stones” put on display in the tunnel between the Cannon Office Building and the United States Capitol. 

"I offer my congratulations to Jill on being chosen this year’s winner and am excited to see her artwork on display in the Capitol soon,” said Representative Paulsen. "This competition is a great way to celebrate and encourage the artistic skills of area students and I want to thank everyone who participated.  I was once again amazed by the artistic talent of these students in the Third District who gave our judges a tough job in choosing this year’s winners.”

This is the 3rd contest organized by Paulsen, whose office worked with local school districts to encourage student participation. This year, 84 pieces of artwork were submitted by students from across the district. Along with the Bloomington Theatre & Art Center, this year’s contest was sponsored by the Mall of America, Larkin Hoffman Attorneys, Southwest Airlines and Blick Art Materials.   

The Congressional Art Competition was established in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the talents of young artists.  Since then, more than 650,000 high school students have taken part.

Other awards include:

Honorable Mention:

• Julie Zook, Maple Grove High School: “Isolation”
• John Barnett, Bloomington Kennedy High School: “Jump on Stage”
• Julia Benington, Wayzata High School: “Building Windows”
• Julia Harrison, Mound Westonka High School, “The Showdown”

3^rd Place Award:

• Nate Scharber, Rogers High School:“Boiling Sea”

2^nd Place Award:

• Katelyn Wojcik, Orono High School:“Master Key”

1^st Place Award:

• Ashley Aubiz, Bloomington Kennedy High School, “Nine Mile Creek”

Mall of America Award:

• Nmesoma Akpati, Champlin Park High School: “Surrealist Landscape”

Larkin Hoffman Award:

• Mai Kia Vue, Champlin Park High School: “Sun Rise”