Congressional Art Competition

Each year, Members of Congress hold contests within their districts to choose winning pieces of art by high school students to be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. This impressive art exhibit brightens the Cannon Tunnel and showcases the talent of our nation’s young people.

If you are interested in participating in this competition, please contact my office in Lexington for more information, including the guidelines for the competition.

General Guidelines

• The competition is open to high school students only. Exceptions will be made for schools that have 7th through 12th grades in one building. Each Member office can choose whether or not to include 7th and 8th grades in the art show if there are schools in their district that fit these criteria.

• Artwork categories are as follows:
  • Collage: must be two-dimensional
  • Computer Generated Art
  • Drawings: pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers
  • Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, etc.
  • Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
  • Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints
  • Photography

More detailed guidelines for the competition are also available: 2008 Art Competition Guidelines.

Student Release Form

A copy of the Student Release Form, signed by both the teacher and the student, must be attached to the artwork to certify the originality of the piece: Student Information/Release Form.

Information on 2007 Winners

Julian Stone, a junior at Western Hills High School, won the 2007 Competition. He is the son of Deven Stone of Frankfort. Stone’s artwork was entitled, “Bird Scull Collage," and the medium is Computer Generated Art.

Stone will have a chance to travel to Washington to meet with Congressman Chandler and attend a ribbon cutting ceremony which will officially open the display of artwork for winners of the art competition.

Stone was the overall winner of the competition, but there were also county winners and categorical winners who received recognition from Chandler’s office.  

County Winners:

• Anderson: Matthew Koos, Anderson County High School
• Boyle: Abi Dobson, Danville High School
• Estill: Jenny Brake, Estill County High School
• Fayette: Hannah Shafer, Henry Clay High School
• Franklin: Stephanie Moore, Western Hills High School
• Garrard: Skylar Davis, Garrard County High School
• Jessamine: Cassie Napier, East Jessamine High School
• Madison: Gina Phillips, Model Laboratory High School
• Mercer: Chris Hunter, Mercer County High School
• Powell: Tenny Ostrem, Powell County High School
• Woodford: Linzay Marks, Woodford County High School

Category Winners:

• Collage: Amanda Whites, Franklin County High School
• Computer Generated Art: Alicia Schroeder, East Jessamine High School
• Drawings: Courtney Rhodes, Garrard County High School
• Mixed Media: Kwan-Yi Chan, Franklin County High School
• Paintings: Lena Ruan, Henry Clay High School
• Photography: Cyrus Hines, Franklin County High School
• Prints: Haley Stegner, East Jessamine High School

Congressman Chandler with overall winner of the 2007 Congressional Art Competition, Julian Stone of Western Hills High School in Frankfort