Art Competition
Each spring, a nationwide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Artistic Discovery Contest is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent in the nation, as well as in the 48th Congressional Congressional District of California.
The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students who live or attend school in the 48th District. The winning artwork will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The winning selection will also be featured on House.gov's Congressional Art Competition page and may also be featured on the Office of Congressman Issa website and social media pages.
Deadline
The 2025 competition deadline is Noon, Friday April 25, 2025.
Rules
The following is a summary of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition rules:
Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and should not weigh more than 15 pounds.
Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork are as follows:
- Paintings - including oil, acrylics, and watercolor
- Drawings - including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
- Collages - must be two dimensional
- Prints - including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints
- Mixed Media - use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
- Computer-generated art
- Photography
All entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted. Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing).
For more information on copyright laws, we recommend you visit here.
Submission
The 2025 submission deadline is Noon, Friday April 25, 2025.
The 2025 submission guidelines are as follows:
To participate, please submit a high-resolution photo your artwork (jpeg or png format) and the 2025 Student Release Form to Steven.Farmer@mail.house.gov
The subject line should follow the following format [Full Student Name]: [School] CA 48 Issa Art Competition.
The Office reserves the right to share the winning and runner(s) up art in the Office, on the website and social media with student recognition.
Winner
For 2025, the Office of Congressman Darrell Issa will select the winning entrant to represent the 48th Congressional District.
The second place entrant will be displayed in the Office of Congressman Issa.
The artwork selected by the Office must be delivered to Washington, DC framed. Details regarding the framing can be found HERE.
The winning selection will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol alongside artwork from students from across the nation. The second-place winning piece will be displayed in the Office of Congressman Issa for the same time period. Students should only submit pieces they will not need for other purposes.
The first-place winner from the 48th District will also receive an invitation to attend a reception with other winners in Washington, D.C. during the summer months.
Questions
With questions, please contact the California office, team member Steven Farmer at Steven.Farmer@mail.house.gov.