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Art Competition

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. Since it began in 1982, over 650,000 high school students have participated in the competition.

The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students and will be judged by an Arts Advisory Committee made up of artists from North Carolina's 9th District. The over-all winner of our district's competition will have their artwork displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, with second and third place winners having artwork displayed in Rep. Hudson's offices. The exhibit in Washington will also include artwork from other contest winners nation-wide.

Guidelines

Art entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches (including the frame) and may be up to 4 inches in depth. The artwork may be:

  • Paintings - including oil, acrylics, and watercolor

  • Drawings - including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers

  • Collage

  • Prints - including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints

  • Mixed Media

  • Computer Generated Art

  • Photography

All entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate U.S. copyright laws. Work cannot be copied from an existing photo or image that was created by someone other than the student. Work must be in its original medium and cannot be a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing. AI generated art will not be accepted. Art does not need to be framed upon submission, and our office will frame the winning piece before it is sent to Washington, D.C. Artwork that is potentially inappropriate for display in the Capitol will not be considered. This determination will be made by a panel.

Additional guidelines can be found here.

To Enter

The deadline for the artwork to be submitted is 5pm on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024. 

The student release form can be found here.

Learn More

If you would like more information about the annual Congressional Art Competition, please contact my Southern Pines District Office at (910) 910-1924 or email Tanner.Hood@mail.house.gov.