Congressional Arts Competition

Each spring, a nation-wide high school art competition is hosted by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Artistic Discovery Contest is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent across the country, as well as in our Congressional District.

The winning artwork from the 12th District competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol building. The exhibit in Washington will include the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. The winning artwork is also featured on House.gov's Congressional Art Competition page. In addition, second, third, fourth and fifth-place works will be displayed in my Washington, DC and Ewing, NJ offices for one year.

This years winners are in!

First Place: 

Cassie Tammy Wang, 10th Grade, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School
"Connection"

 

Honorable Mentions:

Zihuizhong Ye, 10th grade, Stuart Country Day School
"Cautiously Thriving Through Hardships"

Ruixi Luo, 9th grade, Princeton High School
"Harvest"

Lillian Ward, 12th Grade, South Brunswick High School
"untitled"

Seraphina Gillman, 11th grade, Hopewell Valley Central High School
"Colored Glass" 

Congratulations to this year's winners and thank you to everyone who submitted for sharing your artwork with us.

The following is a summary of the Congressional Art Competition rules:

Please be advised that the dimensions for the competition have changed so that artwork MUST BE NO LARGER THAN 26 INCHES BY 26 INCHES BY 4 INCHES. This includes the frame.

• Each entrant may only submit one piece of art that must meet the following criteria:
  • Be two dimensional
  • Be no larger than 26 inches wide by 26 inches tall by 4 inches deep (including the frame)
  • Not weigh more than 15 pounds (including the frame)
  • Be original in concept, design, and execution; the piece may not violate any U.S. Copyright laws.
  • Be in original medium (cannot be a scanned reproduction of the painting/drawing)
  • Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork are as follows:
    • Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
    • Drawings: pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers, etc. (it is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed)
    • Collage (must be two dimensional)
    • Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints, etc.
    • Mixed Media
    • Computer Generated Art
    • Photography
  • Be able to be hung for the final exhibition
• Each entry must be accompanied by an Information/Release Form (supplied by the office of Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman).

Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the student 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).

1st Place: Nasya McCants, "Nasya's Brother"