Each spring, a nation-wide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressional Art Competition is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent in the nation, as well as in our Congressional District.
The Congressional Art Competition 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 second-place prize will hang in Congressman Gottheimer’s D.C. Office. The third-place prize will hang in Congressman Gottheimer’s District Office.
The following is a summary of the Congressional Art Competition rules:
Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 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).
The rules and checklist for the competition can be found here.
The required release form can be found here. Please upload it to the below form.
To apply, please fill out this form by 5pm on April 16.
Voting for this year’s competition can be found here. Voting closes at 5pm on April 30.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Diana Ramos at Diana.Ramos@mail.house.gov.