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 Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nationwide competition.
The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students in Vermont. The over-all winner of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit in Washington will also include artwork from other contest winners nation-wide.
Requirements
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 (It is 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
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.
2025 Congressional Art Competition Timeline:
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January 21st: Registration opens for Congressional Art Competition
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January 21st - March 14th: OPEN Registration Period
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March 14th: Registration CLOSES at end of day
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March 24th - April 11th: Artwork delivered to pick up sites throughout the state
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April: Artwork collected at pick up sites by Congressional Staff
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May 9th: Congressional Art Competition Award Ceremony
Last year, we introduced the idea of welcoming students to investigate a theme. While there will be an award given to one student who investigates this theme, this is NOT a requirement and it will not help or hurt a student from receiving one of our other awards: Grand Prize, Judges Choice, People’s Choice, County Winners.
For the 2025 competition, we have chosen the theme “Moments of Joy” – We know that young people continue to carry a lot these days. We also know that practices of gratitude can be a helpful tool in helping people recognize the simple things that bring them joy.
PLEASE NOTE: Again, this is NOT a requirement for your student and if they choose to NOT create a piece based on the themes outlined, it will not negatively impact their likelihood of receiving an award.
Due to limits on space, teachers can submit artwork from 5 students from each school for consideration in the Congressional Art Competition. Be sure to coordinate with the fellow art educators in your school to choose your 5 students.
To complete the registration, teachers must work with students to fill out the linked and for each student.
GOOGLE FORM REGISTRATION:
STUDENT RELEASE PDF - you may need to print and scan this form:
If you have any questions, please reach out to our office’s Community Liaison, Morgan Nichols, at morgan.nichols@mail.house.gov
U.S. Representative
Becca Balint
Proudly Representing Vermont
