About the Art Competition
Each year House Members may honor one high school student from their districts by selecting a piece of artwork for inclusion in an exhibit at the U.S. Capitol. Millions of visitors to the U.S. Capitol view this exhibit each year.
2025 Congressional Art Competition
We are incredibly excited to work with Congressional Co-Chairs Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL-18) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) to host the 2025 Congressional Art Competition!
Congressional offices that would like to hold Competitions in their Districts may email art@conginst.org for additional information.
Students who would like to enter the Congressional Art Competition should contact the office of their Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the rules and deadline for their District. Students should enter the Competition held in the Congressional District where they live. If you do not know your Member of Congress or Congressional District, use the Find My Representative tool on the U.S. House of Representatives website.
Additional information about the Congressional Art Competition is below.
About the Congressional Art Competition
The Congressional Institute is proud to sponsor the Congressional Art Competition. The annual Competition celebrates the artistic achievements of the nation’s high school students. Each Member of Congress may choose to host the program in their individual districts. Many offices ask a panel of local artists, such as artists-in-residence, art teachers, gallery owners, to act as judges. The winning artwork will hang in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for one year. The tunnel is the most highly traveled access point between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol. Every day, Members of Congress, distinguished visitors, and tens of thousands of tourists – from the United States and abroad – walk through the tunnel and admire the artwork.
The competition is now in its 44th year. Each year, a Republican and a Democratic Member of the House serve as Co-Chairs. The 2025 Competition Co-Chairs are Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL-18) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17). The competition is truly bipartisan, and one of the highlights of the congressional calendar.
At the beginning of the summer, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol begins the process of removing the previous year’s winners and displaying the new pieces to be showcased. That work takes place over the course of about a month. Each picture is carefully hung and labeled with the name of the artist, the title of the work, and the Congressional District. The artwork is organized alphabetically by state and then numerically by district. The previous year’s winning pieces are returned to each congressional office, and many choose to continue to display the art in either Washington, DC, or a district office.
The Congressional Institute has hosted the Art Competition since 2009. Each congressional office is responsible for getting the winning artwork to Washington, DC, and the Congressional Institute facilitates the process of handing the pieces over to the Architect’s Office for hanging. The Institute also hosts the annual awards ceremony, which features a prominent artist from the District of each congressional co-chair. The winning artist from each district, plus one parent or guardian, is invited to attend the annual Winners’ Celebration, held at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC, each June. It is their first opportunity to see their artwork displaying in the Cannon Tunnel.
Congressional Institute President Kelle Strickland said this about the competition:
“Since it was established in 1982, the Congressional Art Competition has promoted the artistic abilities of America’s next generation of creative visionaries and connected these visionaries with their representatives in the U.S. Congress. The Congressional Institute has been proud to host the Competition since 2009, providing logistical support and guidance to Congressional offices and sponsoring the Winners’ Celebration event held at the Capitol Visitor Center each June. For 44 years, more than 10,000 works of art have been exhibited in the U.S. Capitol. The Congressional Institute is delighted to work with Rep. Franklin and Rep. Deluzio as this year’s co-chairs.”
Additionally, since 2002, Southwest Airlines has generously provided two round-trip tickets for winners and their guests to attend the Winners’ Celebration.
“We are also incredibly grateful to Southwest Airlines, which has generously pledged to award each District’s first-place winner with two tickets to travel to D.C. for the Winners’ Celebration at the U.S. Capitol in June. The Celebration is an opportunity for these young artists, from across the country, to see where federal laws are made and passed and to see where their artistic talents can take them! Without Southwest Airlines’ generosity, many winners – if not most – would be unable to travel to our nation’s capital and to the “People’s House” for the Celebration honoring their talents,” Strickland said.
Press
- Congressional Institute Announces 2025 Congressional Art Competition
- Franklin Announces 2025 Congressional Art Competition & Co-Chairmanship
- Deluzio Announces 2025 Congressional Art Competition and Co-Chairmanship
- Youngsville Student Honored In Congress, Wins Art Contest
- Hoyle Hosts Springfield Academy Of Arts Student, Winner Of Congressional Art Competition
- Edinburg North High School Student Wins Congressional Art Competition For Second Year
- Willits Teen Wins Congressional Art Award
- Arkansas High School Junior Wins Congressional Art Competition
Archive
Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
- Videos
- Documents
- Blog Posts
2025 Congressional Art Competition – Winners’ Celebration Slideshow – Morning Program
2025 Congressional Art Competition – Winners’ Celebration Slideshow – Afternoon Program
We were so excited to welcome the first-place winners of the 2024 Congressional Art Competition to the U.S. Capitol in late June. We’re grateful for the 432 congressional offices that participated in the 2024 competition. We continue to be awed by the artistic talents of our nation’s high school students.
The Congressional Institute is proud to sponsor the Congressional Art Competition. The annual competition celebrates the artistic achievements of the nation’s high school students. Each Member of Congress may choose to host the program in their individual districts. Many offices ask a panel of local artists, such as artists-in-residence, art teachers, gallery owners, to act as judges. The winning artwork will hang in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for one year. The tunnel is the most highly traveled access point between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol. Every day, Members of Congress, distinguished visitors, and tens of thousands of tourists – from the United States and abroad – walk through the tunnel and admire the artwork.
The competition is now in its 43rd year. Each year, a Republican and Democratic Member of the House are selected to serve as Co-Chairs. The 2024 competition was co-chaired by Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24) and Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV-01). The competition is truly bipartisan, and one of the highlights of the congressional calendar.
At the beginning of the summer, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol begins the process of removing the previous year’s winners and displaying the new pieces to be showcased. That work takes place over the course of about a month. Each picture is carefully hung and labeled with the name of the artist, the title of the work, and the congressional district. The artwork is organized alphabetically by state and then numerically by district. The previous year’s winning pieces are returned to each congressional office, and many choose to continue to display the art in either Washington, DC, or a district office.
The Congressional Institute has sponsored the art competition since 2009. Each congressional office is responsible for getting the winning artwork to Washington, DC, and the Congressional Institute facilitates the process of handing the pieces over to the Architect’s Office for hanging. The Institute also oversees the annual awards ceremony, which features a prominent artist from the district of each congressional co-chair. The winning artist from each district is invited to attend the awards ceremony with one parent or guardian. It is their first opportunity to see their artwork displaying in the Cannon Tunnel.
Congressional Institute President Kelle Strickland said this about the competition:
“For 43 years, the Congressional Art Competition has showcased the country’s best artistic talent. Millions of visitors have enjoyed more than 10,000 winning pieces, by high school artists from all over the country, exhibited in the U.S. Capitol. This bipartisan competition was established in 1982, with the Congressional Institute providing advice and logistical support since 2009. The Congressional Institute is delighted to have Rep. Van Duyne and Rep. Titus as this year’s co-chairs, with special thanks to our partnership with Southwest Airlines, which has generously awarded each finalist with two tickets to travel to D.C. for the awards ceremony celebrated in June. The Congressional Institute joins each Member of Congress who participates in this bipartisan opportunity, in celebrating these high school artists from across the country.”