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Art Competition

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 'Best of Show' artwork winner will represent Illinois' 15th Congressional District by being displayed in the U.S. Capitol Complex for an entire year.  Also, the winner will be awarded two round-trip airline tickets to attend the National Exhibition Reception in Washington, D.C. this summer.  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 and third place winners will be displayed in our Mahomet and Quincy offices respectively.

PLEASE DELIVER ALL ARTWORK & REQUIRED FORMS TO ONE OF OUR DISTRICT OFFICES ON Wednesday, May 7th, 2024, at 4:30 PM CST. A LIST OF DISTRICT OFFICE LOCATIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE. PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE TO MAKE SEPARATE ARRANGEMENTS FOR DELIVERY. 

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

The theme for this year's art competition is "Agriculture." Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 28 inches by 28 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).

Download the required forms for teachers and students.