Art Competition

2025 Art Competition

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide visual art competition for high school students to recognize and encourage artistic talent across the country and within our congressional district. More than 650,000 students have participated since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982.

 We welcome students to submit their art. The Congressional Art Competition is open to all high school students in the Eighth District of Illinois.

Submission Details

• Students can turn in their submissions in person to Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi’s District Office at 1701 E. Woodfield Rd. Suite 704 in Schaumburg.
• Submissions can also be delivered to the district office.
• All submissions must be turned in no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, April 18th.
• Students must also submit a Student Information and Release Form for artwork to be considered which can be found here.

Competition Rules

All submissions must meet the following guidelines:

• Must be two dimensional
• No larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep
• Cannot weigh more than 15 pounds including the frame 
• Art pieces are NOT required to be framed for judging
• Must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate U.S. copyright laws 
• Artwork must be from a single student. Students CANNOT collaborate on an entry
• Must include 2025 Student Information and Release Form
• More information on competition rules can be found here.

Accepted Mediums

● Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.

● Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (Charcoal and pastel must be fixed.)

● 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

Other guidelines

• Our office must receive both the Student Information and Release Form AND the artwork by April 18th for the student’s registration in the competition to be complete and valid.
• 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. 
• Please include the student’s full name, the name of the school, the title of the piece, and phone number (for contact purposes) on the back of the artwork when dropped off at our district office.

Please direct any questions or concerns to Theodora Koulouvaris at Theodora.Koulouvaris@mail.house.gov, Vishnu Avva at Vishnu.Avva@mail.house.gov, or call our office at  (847) 413-1959 between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. every weekday.