Congressional Art Competition
I am proud to have the opportunity to select a new student to represent California's 52nd Congressional District for 2024! This year's theme is “Say it with a Brush Stroke” – play, experiment, have fun but tell a story through two-dimensional art. Your piece should depict a story, emotion, or message of your choosing that has influenced you at some point in your life. The culmination of the competition will be the year-long display of the winning artwork at the U.S. Capitol.
Artwork is due by 5pm on Friday, May 3rd, 2024 and must be delivered in-person to the district office at 333 F St. Chula Vista, CA, 91910.
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.
The competition is open to high school students. Teachers and/or students should verify their eligibility with the office of the Member of Congress. Artwork must be original and not done in collaboration with another student.
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. Congressman Juan Vargas will arrange for California’s 52nd district Art Competition winner to be framed.
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.
For more information about the Congressional Art Competition, please click here.