Congressional Art Competition
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.
Guidelines:
Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions. No framed piece should weigh more than 15 pounds. Artwork must be two-dimensional.
The accepted mediums are as follows:
- 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.
- Digital Art (No AI generated content)
- 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). Click here for a full list of rules and regulations for the competition.
Submission Details:
We are accepting all in-person submissions until Friday, April 17, 2026.
Artwork must meet the physical specifications given by the Congressional Art Competition. All entries must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on April 17, 2026. Each submission must include a Student Information & Release Form (as well as all physical signatures from student, parent, and art teacher).