Art Competition

Winning entries from the 2012 Congressional Art Competition hang in the U.S. Capitol. Most Members of Congress use this hallway when they go to take votes.

Each spring the United States House of Representatives sponsors an art competition for high school students. The winning entry from Connecticut's 4th Congressional District is displayed in the United States Capitol alongside artwork from every congressional district across the country.

I encourage all high school students who reside in or attend school in the 4th Congressional District to participate. Submissions must be original and can be in the form of paintings (oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.), drawings (pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers), collage (must be two-dimensional), prints (lithographs, silkscreen, block prints), mixed media, computer generated art, or photography. Entries are judged by a panel of local artists and representatives of arts organizations in our district.

Students interested in entering the competition must complete and sign a release form and fax it to my Bridgeport office at (203) 333-6655, attention Paul Coyle. The 2013 competition has concluded.  When the forms are available for the 2014 competition,they will be available here. You can see a copy of the 2013release form here, just as a reference. Artwork, with a copy of the student information and release form affixed to the back, should be delivered or shipped to my Bridgeport office. The deadline for 2014 will be announced next spring.

Each year, I host an awards ceremony and reception, where all entries are displayed and the winners are announced. This is one of my favorite annual events, and meeting the student artists and their families is something I look forward to each May. The 2013 ceremony was held at POP CITY in Norwalk. Shannon Magnaldi of Fairfield Warde High School won the competition for her entry, "Off Peak."