Artwork from 25 North Texas high school art students were announced by U.S. Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. Tuesday as finalists in "An Artistic Discovery," the annual Congressional High School Art Competition.  Finalists from each of the area high schools and the one winner of the popular vote “Texas Choice” will now be reviewed by an art juror designated by The Greater Denton Arts Council for selection as Grand Prize, First, Second and Third Place winners to be announced April 30^th.

“I would like to thank every student and art teacher who submitted works to this year's Congressional Art Competition,” said Dr. Burgess. “The response was overwhelming and the talent of our students is incredible. Please take the time to browse the finalists and honorable mentions on our burgess.house.gov website.”

For the first time, this year’s entries were submitted digitally by art teachers on behalf of their students for a new public category: the “Texas Choice.” Flower Mound High School student Katherine Choi’s “Through the Buildings” cityscape was selected by popular vote in the virtual gallery on the congressman’s website.  Miss Choi’s work was also selected as among “Best of School” representing Flower Mound High School. 

The Best of School selections are made of one student from each school based on the art juror's appraisal of their work as the best piece among all art work submitted by that school.  Listed by high school, the Best of School finalists are: Lone Star High School’s Justin Wilkerson for "Carousel in Motion", Timber Creek High School’s Nia Ortega for "Watching the Race", Billy Ryan High School’s Nadia Rosales for "Trouble Hunting", John Guyer High School’s Bailey Cage for "Rainy Day", Lake Dallas High School’s Nicole Canada for "Longing", Coram Deo Academy’s Anna Brock for "Life", Flower Mound High School’s Katherine Choi for "Through the Buildings", Keller High School’s Madison McDaniel for "The Marina", Liberty Christian School’s Colby Dowdle for "Ryder & Kage", Everman High School’s Maria Vasquez for "Cut Me", Nolan Catholic High School’s Feliza Vidaurri for "June Bug in Flight", Marcus High School’s Brooks Morrow for "The Explorer",  Byron Nelson High School’s Tiffany Hester for "Jazz is a Sweet Sound",  Polytechnic High School’s Claudia Acosta for "Fish in a Pond", and Westlake Academy’s Caitlin Burke for "The Change".

The Juror's Award is based on the juror's appraisal of artwork having a high level of artistic merit and execution ranking under that of the Best of School Award. These students are also finalists in the competition: Timber Creek High School’s Anna McKay for "Aspirations", Billy Ryan High School’s Lindsey Hanley for "Lost in Motion", Flower Mound High School’s Nicholas Woodwell for "Allee", Liberty Christian School’s Marissa Marrs for "New York Nostalgia", and Marcus High School’s Kaitlyn Herber for"Leaf".

The Juror's Honorable Mention recognizes a high level of artistic merit although not selected for Best of School or Juror's Choice by the juror. These students are not finalists in the competition, but through Honorable Mention will receive recognition of their talent and hard work: Timber Creek High School’s Courtney McDonald for "Bromeliad Brilliance"and Brianna Rebosio for "Hudson", Flower Mound High School’s Reid Fagerquist for "Suspension", and Liberty Christian School’s Emily Vick for "Stained" and Kristin Smith for "Irish Enigma".

Artwork selected as the Grand Prize winner will be displayed for an entire year in the U.S. Capitol.  The Grand Prize winning artist will be invited along with one parent/guardian to attend the national reception in Washington, DC in June. The First Place winner may have their artwork displayed in the Washington, DC office, while Second and Third Place winners' artwork may be displayed publicly in Congressman Burgess’ Lewisville or Fort Worth district offices for the upcoming year.

Hundreds of thousands of talented high school students have served as artistic ambassadors of their communities in the 30 years since the U.S. House of Representatives created the competition.