The 2024 Artistic Discovery Contest, open to any student grades 9-12 who lives in Oregon’s First Congressional District, which includes a large portion of Multnomah County, is currently accepting submissions. The contest is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artists in our Congressional District as well as across the nation.
A panel of local arts leaders will select the winning student artist, whose artwork will be displayed in the US Capitol in Washington for one year alongside the winning artwork from participating districts around the country. The winning artwork will also be featured on house.gov’s Congressional Art Competition page. All students who participate in the competition will be invited to a reception with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, where the winner will be announced and all submissions shown.
“I am always inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness of the student artists in our community,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “I host the Congressional Art Competition each year to provide students with the opportunity to express themselves and share their work in our nation’s Capitol Building for visitors from across the country and world to see. I encourage all high school students who are interested in the arts to participate, and I look forward to seeing the works they create.”
Artwork must be two-dimensional and each framed piece can be no larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide and four inches deep; framing is not required. Accepted mediums include paintings (oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.), drawings (colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal), collages, prints (lithographs, silkscreen, block prints), mixed media (using more than two mediums), computer-generated art and photographs. The artwork must be the creation of a single student and only one entry per student is allowed.
Visit bonamici.house.gov/services/art-competition for more information. The deadline for art submissions is Monday, April 29, 5:30 pm. Art may be mailed to Bonamici’s Beaverton office at 12725 SW Millikan Way, Suite 220, Beaverton, OR 97005. To arrange an in-person drop off, call 503.469.6010.