Congressman Hakeem Jeffries would like to invite students to participate in the annual 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 our congressional district. This competition is open to any high school student who resides in New York’s 8th Congressional District.
We will accept artwork from around the district, the first-place recipient will be invited to Washington, D.C. for a special reception honoring winners from all over the country, and their artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for an entire year.
Participant Guidelines:
The Congressional Art Competition is open to high school students only. Exceptions may be made for schools that have 7th through 12th grades on one campus. All participants must reside within New York’s 8th Congressional District. This means the student must live within the boundaries of District NY-08.
2020 Rules for Students and Teachers
Art Guidelines:
Artwork must be two-dimensional.
Each piece can be no larger than 26” x 26” x 4” (26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep), including the frame. Two sturdy eye hooks at the top right and left sides of the back of the frame must be attached and arrows drawn on the back of the artwork to indicate which direction is up. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it will be required to be framed and must still adhere to the size guidelines. Artwork cannot exceed more than 15 pounds.
Artwork accepted mediums are as follows:
- Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
- 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, etc.
- Computer-generated art
- 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 a 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 hang in the Capitol for the entire year of the exhibition and cannot be returned to the students earlier. Students should submit artwork they will not need for other purposes.
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions will be due to district offices by Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
Student Information and Release Form:
Each entrance must submit a Student Information and Release Form.
The information requested on the first page of the form should be provided as thoroughly as possible. Students should list their mailing addresses, if different from their residential addresses. The form requires a description of the artwork, which should be detailed, clearly identifying the major elements of the work. For example, “self-portrait” or “a picture of two people” would be unacceptable, due to the large number of works that would fit that description. “A painting of two people; the one on the left wears a green sweater and khaki pants; the one on the right wears a black shirt and a striped skirt. A dog sits at their feet” is an example of an acceptable description. The second page of the Student Information and Release Form contains a legal release and a certification that the artwork is original in design and execution. The student, an art teacher, and a parent or guardian must sign where appropriate. Entries without signed originality certifications and artwork releases may not be accepted.
A TYPED copy of the Student Release Form, signed by, both, the teacher, a parent or guardian, and the student, must be securely attached to the back of the artwork to certify the originality of the piece.
Please refer all questions and inquiries to Central Brooklyn Office (718-237-2211) or on the below form (* indicates information that you must provide).”