2020 Congressional Art Award Winners

The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Congressional Art Competition: 

This year's top finishers by district include: 

1st District: Winner: Alek Gideon of Freeport. First Runner Up: Jacob Smith of Winthrop, Second Runner Up: Reagan Davis of Durham. Honorable Mentions: Magnolia Sinisi of Freeport, Eliza Goodwin of Freeport, and William Gordon of Brunswick.

2nd District: Winner: Carolyn Adams of Lewiston. First Runner Up: Lilly Hallock of Lewiston, Second Runner Up: Jasmine Weiang Li of Hebron. Honorable Mentions:  Lauren Farmer of Rangeley, Sophia Carson of Auburn, and Cassie Cielinski of Rangeley.

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.

Both first place students will have their artwork on display at the U.S. Capitol for one year and will be offered respective scholarships to attend Maine College of Art in Portland. All recognized artwork will be on exhibit at the Maine State House in Augusta during the spring of 2020.

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.