2022 Congressional Art Award Winners

The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Congressional Art Competition: 

This year's top finishers by district include: 

1st District: Winner Dorcus Bolese of Yarmouth High School, Second Place Winner Jillian Wight of Freeport High School; Third Place Winner Julia Bell of Baxter Academy for Technology and Science; Honorable Mentions: Katherine Callahan of Cape Elizabeth High School;Trevor Campbell of Brunswick High School; and Rachel Fox of Thornton Academy.  

 2nd District: Winner Hannah Wojdakowski of Bangor High School, Second Place Winner Ava Blanchette of Lewiston High School; Third Place Winner Ella Shaffer of Rangeley Lakes Regional School. Honorable Mentions:  Ahmednur Isaaq of Lewiston High School; Erik Carson of Edward Little High School; and Kaycee McGuire of Narraguagus High School. 

All recognized artwork will be on exhibit at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, in Rockland, May 14-21.  A reception for students, parents and teachers will be held on May 21, at 1:00 PM.

The Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition every year to recognize and encourage artistic talent in each congressional district. Since this competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated, according to the U.S. House of Representatives website.

About the Congressional Art Awards

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for Members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 700,000 high school students have competed for the honor of having their work shown in the U.S. Capitol.

The competition is open to all high school students. The overall winner of each participating district will have the opportunity to have their work displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for the entire year, beginning in June. In addition, winners will be flown to Washington, D.C. for the official opening of the show in June.

The Maine Arts Commission partners with the Maine College of Art (MECA) and the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards to select the artwork. Artwork that MECA has invited to exhibit for the annual Maine Regional Scholastic Art Awards are automatically submitted to be juried for the Congressional Art Competition.

For information about the Congressional Art Competition please contact Julie Horn of the Maine Arts Commission, at vog.eniam@nroh.eiluj or 207-287-2790.