Art Competition

Student artist smiling with paint brush and paint palette

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.

The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students in our District. The winning artwork of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. 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.

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

Artwork entered in the contest may not exceed 26 inches by 26 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions.

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

All entries 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 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).

Find the rules and release form for the competition here. Guidelines for plagiarism are also provided.

Submission Guidelines
All entries must be dropped off at Gallery 119, between April 26 to May 3, 2022. 
You may call the Gallery 119 at (765) 620-3823 or the Anderson Office at (765) 639-0670 to schedule a drop-off of entries.
Drop-off location is Gallery 119 at 119 W State Street Pendleton, IN.

Timeline

4/25:             Student Release Forms must be submitted by email (nick.papandria@mail.house.gov), or mailed to (1119 N. Meridian Street Ste 200 Anderson, IN
                      46016 – ATTN: Nick Papandria).

4/26 - 5/3:    Art pieces must be delivered to Gallery 119

5/4:               Entries will be judged by panel

5/5 - 5/25:    Congressional Art Competition Exhibit 2022

5/25 - 6/1:    Art pieces will be available for pick-up


Contact
Please direct any questions to Nick Papandria.
Office: (765) 639-0670
Email: nick.papandria@mail.house.gov

All artwork with 2 copies of the release form must be submitted by 5:00, May 3.