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 nation, as well as in each Congressional District.

The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students. The over-all winner of each district will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nationwide competition. All entries must be an original in concept, design and execution.

Entering the Competition

Students who wish to enter the 2009 Congressional Art Competition must follow the 2009 Art Competition Guidelines, and Members should ensure that all entries selected as winners conform to these guidelines. Click here to download the 2009 Art Guidelines.

Information Needed for Winning Entries

Students who are selected as winners of the competition must fill out, print, sign and submit the Student Information/Release Form to their Representative in Congress. Click here to download the 2009 Student Information/Release Form. Winning entries must be framed in accordance with the 2009 Framing Guidelines by the students before being sent to Washington. Click here for the 2009 Framing Guidelines.

Southwest Airlines travel Program for Selected Winners

Members may choose to have the winner from their district travel to Washington, D.C. via the Southwest Airlines program, which provides the selected winner with up to three (3) round trip tickets from the district to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI). Click here to download the invitation letter. In order to participate in the program, a staff person from the Member's office must contact Southwest airlines. Click here to e-mail Southwest Airlines regarding this program. Please note that the district must be within 200 miles of an airport Southwest serves. Click here to download the routes that Southwest airlines serves. Once a winner is chosen, if the Member office has chosen to participate in the Southwest Airlines program, the following form will need to be completed and returned by staff. Click here to download a copy of the Southwest Airlines CAC form.

Information for Member Offices

During a February 4 briefing, a list of deadlines and contact information was shared that apply to the competition. Click here to download notes from the February 4 briefing. If you would like more information on the annual Congressional District Art Competition—including this year's deadlines—please contact this year's Co-Chairs at art2009@mail.house.gov.

2009 Congressional Art Competition - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Are there guidelines I can send out to schools?
We are not producing a set of guidelines for distribution to schools this year due to the varying nature of deadlines and additional rules your office may choose to provide.

Is there a theme for the art competition this year? Last year's was "An Artistic Discovery."
There is no set theme for artwork, as long as it conforms to the art guidelines. The "Artistic Discovery" theme is an enduring subtitle of sorts for the Art Competition. If your district would like to establish a theme for the competition this year you are more than welcome to!

My office just signed up in the past two weeks, can I get the guidelines and any other information I need?
Yes! Please refer to the list of documents below.

Help! I have a lot of questions and am a little lost OR this is my first year doing the competition, I'd love any help!
If you've e-mailed mailto:art2009@mail.house.govwithin the past two weeks with a handful of questions and have not received a response back – watch your inbox! We'll be organizing a smaller briefing for offices needing a little extra help in the next two weeks. If you'd like to participate in this event, e-mail mailto:art2009@mail.house.govand let us know you'd like to attend the "help!" briefing.

A full list of documents also appears below:

All 2009 CAC Documents