Art Competition

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 St. Louis region.

The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students grade 9-12 in our District. The winning artwork of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit in Washington will include the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. The winning artwork is also featured on House.gov's Congressional Art Competition page.

The following is a summary of the Congressional Art Competition rules:

Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 28 inches by 28 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions.

Paintings - including oil, acrylics, and watercolor
Drawings - including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
Collages - must be two dimensional
Prints - including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints
Mixed Media - use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
Computer-generated art
Photography

All entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any 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. Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing).

Read more about the 2025 Congressional Art Competition Rules here.

APPLY

Each student can only submit ONE entry. To enter, please complete the webform below and fill out the Student Information and Release Form. All entries and required paperwork must be submitted by April 16 at 4:30 pm CT. Please make sure to complete the following as incomplete submissions will not be accepted. All art submissions AND required paperwork must be received by our St. Louis District Office by April 16 at 4:30 pm CT.

Upon completion of the submission form, please drop of your artwork and Student Information and Release Form at our District Office located at 1191 Dr. M.L. King Dr. St. Louis, MO 63101 from Monday – Friday between the hours of 9 am – 5 pm CT. If you have any questions about this year's Congressional Art Competition, please call my district office at 314-955-9980

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On the next page you will be asked to upload a high-quality image of your Art and the completed release form. Please have these ready for submission prior to filling out this form.

Student First Name:

Student Last Name:

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Address

Address 2

City/Town

State/Province

ZIP/Postal Code

Country

Student Email:

Student Phone Number:

Parent Email Address:

Grade:

School Name:

Art Teacher Name:

Art Teacher Email:

Artwork Medium:

Artwork Title:

Artist Statement:

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