Congressional Art Competition
2025 Submission deadline Wednesday April 23
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 who reside 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.
Please submit a high-resolution photo of the art work, along with the completed student release form to Felicity Fitzpatrick at felicity.fitzpatrick@mail.house.gov. Once the winning piece has been chosen, the original/printed artwork will need to provided for framing.
Student Release Form -
Student / Teacher Rules and Regulations -
The following is a summary of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition rules:
- The competition is open to high school students. Students should enter the competition in the district they reside, not where they attend school. Teachers and/or students should verify their eligibility with the office of the Member of Congress.
- Artwork must be the creation a single student. Students may not collaborate on an entry.
- Artwork must be two-dimensional. Each framed artwork can be no larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive in Washington, DC, framed.
- 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 (Charcoal and pastel must 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 - Each entry must be 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 (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. For
more information on copyright laws, we recommend you visit the Scholastic website:
https://www.artandwriting.org/awards/how-to-enter/copyright-plagiarism/
Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting, drawing, etc.). - Artwork will hang in the Cannon Tunnel for the duration of the exhibition. Students should only submit artwork they will not need for other purposes.
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Past Winners:
2023-Shelia Hernandez, Lawrence Central High School
2022-Braydin Osborne, Cardinal Ritter High School
2020-Eliza Leffler, Scecina Memorial High School
2019-Blessed Sellars, Lawrence Central High School
2018-Rachel Knierman, Roncalli High School
2017-Molly Leraris, Lawrence Central High School
2016-Thian Hnem, Perry Meridian High School
2015-Lizbeth Rojas, Broad Ripple High School
2014-Kris Lovett, Irvington Preparatory Academy
2013-Melinda Ervin, Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School
2012 & 2011-Lindsey Redifer, Lawrence Central High School