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Congressional Art Competition

2012 Submissions

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"An Artistic Discovery" is the annual art contest conducted by Members of Congress for high school students across the country. This competition provides Members and the public an opportunity to encourage and recognize the rich artistic talents of young American high school students.

Our district is home to so many talented young artists. This year's winner will have the opportunity to display their artwork at the United States Capitol for a yearlong national exhibition and be recognized at a reception to be held in the district. Past participants have also been recognized and awarded prizes by local businesses such as University Art San Jose, Bontrager Framing Services, San Jose Museum of Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Amici's Pizza, De Anza Euphrat Museum of Art, Winchester Mystery House, the San Jose Giants, the Tech Museum, Aqui Cal-Mex, History San Jose, It's a Grind Coffee House, and Southwest Airlines.

General Guidelines:

The competition is open to only high school students
Students must either reside within the 17th Congressional District or attend a high school located within the 17th Congressional District
Only one entry per student
All entries may be featured on Congressman Honda's website and public relations material
If entry is chosen as the winner, it will hang in the U.S. Capitol for no less than a period of one-year and cannot be returned to students earlier

Entries & Guidelines:

While it is not the intent of the Congressional Art Competition to censor artwork, all artwork must adhere to the policy of the House Office Building Commission. Therefore, entries must not be extremely sensationalistic, be gruesome in nature, or depict subjects of political controversy
Entry must be of original concept, design and execution
Entry must not violate U.S. copyright law
Entry must not reproduce an existing photo, painting, graphic advertisement, or any work produced by another person
Entry must be in the original medium (not a scanned reproduction of painting or drawing)
Entry must not infringe the rights of any third party
Entry must not be framed or matted
Entry must be two-dimensional
Entry must not exceed dimensions of 26 inches (high) by 26 inches (wide) by 2 inches (deep)
Entry must not weigh more than 15 pounds
The following mediums can be used individually or in combination: paintings, drawings, prints, collage, mixed media, computer-generated art, and photography
Photography must not be smaller than 8 inches by 10 inches

How to Submit Your Artwork:

Double-check the guidelines and make sure your artwork qualifies: click here to download
Download and complete the student release form: click here to download
Drop off your artwork, with the student release form attached, to one of the following locations:
Fremont Main Library – 2400 Stevenson Boulevard, Fremont CA 94538
Newark Library – 6300 Civic Terrace Boulevard, Newark CA 94560
Milpitas Library – 160 North Main Street, Milpitas CA 95035
Sunnyvale Public Library – 665 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale CA 94086
Berryessa Branch Library – 3355 Noble Avenue, San Jose CA 95132
Cupertino Library – 10800 Torre Avenue, Cupertino CA 9501
Santa Clara Library-Central Park – 2635 Homestead Road, Santa Clara CA 95051
OR Drop off or mail your artwork to my District Office: 2001 Gateway Place, Suite 670W, San Jose CA 95110