“One eye sees, the other feels.” –Paul Klee
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
Every year, Members of Congress receive thousands of pieces of artwork from up-and-coming artists from high schools across the United States for the Artistic Discovery Contest. The winner will get a chance to display their artwork in the U.S. Capitol for thousands of fellow Americans to see.
“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.”
Applications are open for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition. Entries are due in-person at our Miami District Office (3951 NW 7th St., Bay F) by April 28, 2023. For more information on the rules and requirements of the competition click here. The rules, checklist, and release form for the competition are all available on House.gov. The 2023 flyer for the Art Competition may be downloaded here. Questions can be directed to Leslie Collazo at [email protected].
See the 2022 winners from Florida here.
Elegant Strength artwork by Alexis Jose was the winner for District 27 in 2022.
You can click and observe the winning artwork in each of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
For me, it’s fascinating to peer into the minds of high school students via their creative pieces. Each portrait, picture, photograph tells a story. I look for patterns, themes, and what’s happening in our culture, society, and beyond. However, the genuine interpretation belongs to the painter.
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live only as you can.” – Neil Gaiman
As a former mental health therapist, I used techniques of art theory often in counseling sessions: drawing, painting, clay, sand tray. The psyche is both an amazing place and a scary place.
“A work of art which isn’t based on feeling isn’t art at all.” – Paul Cézanne
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