Each spring, the Congressional Institute and participating Members of Congress sponsor An Artistic Discovery, a nationwide high school visual art competition that recognizes and encourages artistic talent in each congressional district. Since the pilot competition in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

The competition is open to high school students. Artwork must be the creation a single student. Students may not collaborate on an entry.

Artwork must be two-dimensional. Each framed artwork can be no larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive in Washington, DC, framed. Even when framed, it must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions. No framed piece should weigh more than 15 pounds.

Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork are as follows:

• Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
• Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
• Collages: 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
• Photographs

Each entry must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate 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. For more information on copyright laws, we recommend you visit the Scholastic website: http://www.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A-Guideto-Copyright-and-Plagiarism.pdf. 



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