Submissions for the 2021 Congressional Art Competition are due Friday, April 30^th.

Every year, Members of Congress sponsor a nation-wide arts competition for high school students. 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 the 9^th District. Winning entries from each congressional district are hung in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for one year. Second and third place winners will have their pieces displayed in my D.C. and District Offices.

Requirements:

Artwork must be two-dimensional. Each framed artwork can be no larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. To reduce out of pocket expenses for students, entries are not required to be framed, only matted. Even when framed, it must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions. No framed piece should weigh more than 15 pounds.

Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork are as follows:

• Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
• Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (it’s recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed)
• Collages: 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
• Photographs

All entries must be an original in concept, design and execution and may not violate U.S. Copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image will not be accepted.

Students from Washington’s 9^th Congressional District who would like to participate must submit a completed Student Release Form (download it here) and a description of the medium and background of the piece along with their entry. All entries must comply with the competition guidelines and be received no later than Friday, April 30^th.

We will be accepting submissions digitally and will coordinate with the winning student how to collect the physical art piece to send to Washington, D.C.

Submissions are due by Friday, April 30^th. Please send the completed Student Release Form, a digital version of the art piece, and a brief description of the piece to Caitlyn.Cole@mail.house.gov.

Please note that the Student Release Form requires a signature from each student’s art teacher. The Congressional Institute is allowing an email from art teachers stating the student’s piece is original in concept in lieu of their signature.

If you have any questions, please contact my District Office at 425-793-5180 or email Caitlyn.Cole@mail.house.gov.