2026 Art Competition
Each spring, a nation-wide 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 our Congressional District.
The Artistic Discovery Contest is open to all high school students in our California's Fourth Congressional District. The winning artwork of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit in Washington will include the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. The winning artwork is also featured on House.gov's Congressional Art Competition page.
The following is a summary of the Congressional Art Competition rules:
Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 28 inches by 28 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions.
- 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).
Students may register for the competition using this link to the complete the online form no later than Friday, April 10th, 2026.
After completing your online application, you must also drop off the submitted piece of art at one of Congressman Thompson’s district offices by Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, 5:00pm PST. The submissions from our District will be judged by an appointed panel of local artists at our joint reception, and the winning piece will be put on display in the U.S. Capitol for a year!