Press Releases

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI -02) announced the beginning of the 2013 Congressional Art Competition. The competition is open to all Second District high school students looking to share their artistic creativity:

"The Congressional Art Competition is a great way to challenge gifted young artists to compete with other talented individuals from across their district, their state and their country," Huizenga said. "Last year's competition produced dozens of excellent entries from across the Second District. This year, I anticipate an even better turnout and encourage every high school student to participate and showcase their talent."

Below are the competition guidelines:

The deadline for submission of original entries to either the district office located in Grandville or Grand Haven is April 29, 2013. Students may only submit one entry. The winning entry and finalists will be selected by a panel of area art and design professionals.

The winning entry from each congressional district is displayed in an exhibit in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The second and third place entries will be displayed in Congressman Huizenga's district offices.

The winning artist is invited to fly to Washington, D.C., for a national reception honoring winning artists from each congressional district. The cost of attending the ceremony is the responsibility of the competition winner.

For more information, please contact Matt Kooiman in Huizenga's Grandville District office at Matt.Kooiman@mail.house.gov.


2013 Congressional Art Competition Guidelines:

• The competition is open to high school students only. Exceptions may be made for schools that have 7th through 12th grades on one campus.
• Artwork must be two-dimensional.
• Each framed piece can be no larger than 28” x 28” x 4” (28 inches high, 28 inches wide and 4 inches deep). If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it will be required to be framed and must still adhere to the size guidelines.
• Artwork cannot weigh more than 15 pounds.
• Accepted mediums are:
• Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
• Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
• Collage: must be two dimensional
• Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints
• Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
• Computer-generated art
• Photography
• Each entry 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 (not the student’s own), painting, graphic, advertisement, or any other work produced by another person 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).
• Artwork will hang in the Capitol for the entire year of the exhibition and cannot be returned to the students earlier. Students should, therefore, submit artwork they will not need for other purposes.
• The final decision regarding the suitability of all artwork for the 2013 Congressional Art Competition exhibition in the Capitol will be made by a panel of qualified persons chaired by the Architect of the Capitol. Artwork must adhere to the policy of the House Office Building Commission. In accordance with this policy, exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed. It is necessary that all artwork be reviewed by the panel chaired by the Architect of the Capitol and any portion not in consonance with the Commission’s policy will be omitted from the exhibit.