Congressman Sam Graves has announced the kickoff to his 2020 Congressional Art Competition. The U.S. House of Representatives sponsors the nationwide contest each spring. Since 1982, when the program first began, over 650,000 high school students across the country have participated.
“North Missouri students always produce some of the most exceptional artwork. We truly have some talented folks throughout the district,” said Rep. Graves. “As always, I can’t wait to see what these young artists come up with this year.”
The Congressional Art Competition is open to all high school students in Missouri’s 6th District. The submission deadline is April 10th (more details below). The Art Department of Northwest Missouri State University will judge the artwork. Rep. Graves will host a reception for the top ten entrants, and the winning artist’s work will hang in the U.S. Capitol for one year.
The winning artist and a guest will receive round-trip airfare to Washington, D.C., for a national reception this summer.
All artwork must be submitted by Friday, April 10th, 2020 at 5 pm, to the Kansas City District office, and must include a form from the student.
Here are some specific details about the submissions:
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
Entries must be original in concept, design, and execution, and must be entered in the original medium (i.e. not a scan or copy of original work).
