Congressional Art Competition features 20 local students; submissions available to view and vote online

Rep. Tom Graves announced Wednesday that public voting for the Congressional Art Competition’s People’s Choice Award has begun.

Each Spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent across the nation and in each congressional district. This year Rep. Graves hosted a modified competition for local high school students due to the ongoing public health crisis, and all local high school student submissions were submitted digitally. All 27 pieces are online for public viewing online at tomgraves.house.gov/art/ — the voting form with instructions can be seen at the bottom of the webpage.

Local judges, chosen by the Rome Area Council of the Arts, have chosen winners for the top three places, along with two honorable mentions. Residents of the 14th Congressional District are encouraged to vote for their favorite piece to win the People’s Choice Award, which will be announced early next week with the other five winners. The public voting will run through Sunday, May 31.

The 20 local high school students whose work is available to view and be voted on are Kaley Partain, Jaci Davis, Elle Smith, Molly Brewer, Tessa Knowles, Sisly Mann, Stephanie Perez, Rilie Bowman, Baneza Mejia, Cason Glover, Jessica Palmer, Calysta Long, May Khateeb, Raven Sieler, Jack Mcwhorter, Alyx Bontrager, Kaleb Faulknor, Andrea Richardson, Brianna King and Rebecca Ackerman.

“I am proud of our local student artists who used this time, even though many schools have been closed, to share their creative talents with our community. I urge residents of the

14th Congressional District to vote for their favorite student piece and hope Northwest Georgians enjoy viewing the art as much as I did,” said Rep. Graves.

The 1st place winner’s artwork will be shipped to Washington, D.C., where it will remain on display in the Cannon House Office Building’s Capitol Tunnel for one year, alongside the 1st place artwork from every congressional district in the country.