NJ's 3rd congressional district enters national art contest

The 3rd Congressional District of New Jersey is accepting visual art submissions for the annual Congressional Art Competition, “An Artistic Discovery.” The competition is open to high school artists in grades nine through 12 who reside within the district. The contest will be held at Burlington County College, located in Pemberton.

Photo via House.gov
"Programmed for Change," by Jayne Yan,
was NJ's 3rd Congressional District's 2012
winner of the Congressional Art Competition.

According to a press release sent out by Congressman Jon Runyan (N.J.-3rd), the nationwide competition has been sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives since 1982 to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of the nation’s young constituents.

Student artists should register for the 3rd Congressional District Art Competition by Wednesday, April 10. Artwork must be submitted to the Lewis M. Parker Center at Burlington County College by Monday, April 15, between 4 and 6 p.m. Submissions will be on display throughout the week.

Each entry 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, painting, graphic, advertisement or any other work produced by another person is considered a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.

Artwork, when framed, should be no larger than 28- by 28- by 4-inches and should not weigh more than 15 pounds. A 3- by 5-inch index card with the title and medium of the entry must be attached to the bottom right hand corner of the artwork. The name of the artist should not appear on the artwork itself.

The 2013 Congressional Art Competition student information and release form must be typed and attached to the back of the artwork with each entry. Entries without this completed form and any other required information will be disqualified.

A panel of district artists will select the winning entries on Thursday, April 18. The winner of the “Best in Show” category will have his or her winning piece displayed in the Cannon Tunnel to the U.S. Capitol for one year. Southwest Airlines will also award the winning artist with two round-trip tickets to Washington, D.C., for the gallery’s ribbon-cutting event.

Four runner-up entries will be selected for first, second and third places, as well as honorable mention. The first and second runners-up will be invited to hang their pieces in one of Runyan’s congressional district offices.

For more information and to register, contact Amanda von Leer at 856-780-636 or Amanda.vonleer@mail.house.gov.

--Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.