Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26) is pleased to announce the opening of "An Artistic Discovery," the annual Congressional High School Art Competition. Since the U.S. House of Representatives created the competition in 1982, hundreds of thousands of talented high school students have served as artistic ambassadors of their communities.

The contest is open to public, private and home-schooled high school students residing and/or attending schools located in the 26th Congressional District. The Greater Denton Arts Council (GDAC) selects an art educator to judge the annual competition. 

Digital image submissions of artwork must be submitted by teachers by Monday, March 25 at 5pm CT. Submissions must be accompanied by a School Entry Form and Student Information Release Form for each student. Any artwork submitted that does not have the required documents will not be accepted for online judging and exhibition. Each art teacher may submit up to 5 entries with no student allowed to submit more than one entry. All works must be submitted as a group through the art teacher. For more information please visit,  /2013artcompetition. The public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces in a virtual gallery on Dr. Burgess’ website; the artwork earning the most votes will be named the “Texas Choice” winner.  An art juror will determine one “Best of School” winner from each participating high school.

All competition finalists, their parents, teachers and school administrators will be invited to attend a reception on Monday, April 29th, at 5:30 p.m. to view their “Best of Schools” and “Texas Choice” artwork on display at the Center for the Visual Arts in Denton. Also that evening, finalists will be recognized and receive a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. Grand Prize, First, Second, Third Place winners will be announced as well. 

Grand Prize in the competition is the display of the winning student's artwork for an entire year in the House corridor to the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit hallway is traveled daily by Members of Congress, their staff, and thousands of visitors who are able to view the artwork from Congressional districts throughout the country – each artwork is highlighted with the name of the work and student artist. 

The 26th District winner and a guest will be invited to Washington, D.C. in the summer to attend a ribbon –cutting ceremony honoring the winning artists and opening the 2013 "An Artistic Discovery" exhibition. In addition, the competition’s First Place winner will have the opportunity to have their artwork displayed in Dr. Burgess’ Lewisville district office for the upcoming year.

If you have any questions regarding the Congressional High School Art Contest or a student’s eligibility to participate, please contact Robin Vaughan, Deputy District Director, in Congressman Burgess’ Lewisville office by phone at (972) 434-9700 or email, robin.vaughan@mail.house.gov. 

To find this year’s guidelines, entry form and release form, click on the following links: 

• Congressional Art Contest Guidelines for Students
• Congressional Art Contest School Entry Form
• Congressional Art Contest Student Release Form