Higgins Announces Details for Annual Congressional Art Competition

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) is inviting local high school students to participate in the annual Congressional Art Competition. All artwork submitted from students in Congressman Higgins' district will be featured in a public gallery and available for viewing online. The winning piece will be displayed in the tunnel to the U.S. Capitol.

"We are proud to feature the art locally and in Washington D.C. to promote the impressive work of high school students from across the 26th Congressional District," said Congressman Higgins. "Our talented student artists in Western New York present amazing pieces each year."

Interested students must submit their original artwork by 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 9, 2015. Art pieces can be delivered to Congressman Higgins' Buffalo Office at 726 Exchange Street, Suite 601.

Submitted artwork must be framed and can be no larger than 28 inches high, 28 inches wide and 4 inches deep. Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork include:

Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.

Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal

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

Additional guidelines are available on the Congressman's website: http://higgins.house.gov/sites/higgins.house.gov/files/2015_ArtCompetitionGuidelines.pdf.

All submissions will be on display from April 20th through May 3rd in a public gallery located in the Larkin at Exchange Building at 726 Exchange Street in Buffalo. From April 20th to April 30th the artwork will be featured in a virtual gallery on Congressman Higgins' website, where the public will be invited to vote for their favorite piece. On Sunday, May 3rd Congressman Higgins will host a ceremony and reception for teachers, students and their families where the winners will be announced.

Students presenting artwork for entry must also submit a Student Information and Release Form, which Congressman Higgins' office has provided to high schools in his district. The forms are also available on his website at: http://higgins.house.gov/services/art-competition.

One piece from each Congressional district will hang in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC for one year. The winning student is invited to attend a Ribbon Cutting Awards Ceremony in the Capitol and Southwest Airlines will provide roundtrip airfare for two. The competition, initiated by Congress in 1982, includes hundreds of thousands of high school students from across the nation.

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