May 6 Update: Alina Houser won the Congressional Art Competition, she also won the People’s Choice Award!
Her art will hang in the U.S. Capitol building for a year, and they are sending Alina and her mom, an ISMS employee, to Washington, D.C. for a banquet this summer and to see the art in the Capitol Building.
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May 1 Update: Alina Houser has been selected as a finalist for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition. She will share her canvas with The Fort Wayne Museum of Art and attend a banquet on Saturday, May 6.
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Three Columbia City High School students submitted paintings to illustrate what Indiana means to them for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent nationwide and in each congressional district.
Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries.
Alina Houser, CCHS Junior, submitted "Dawn," an acrylic painting on a canvas as well as the Indiana State Constitution, which marks the 'start' of Indiana as an official state, so the painting also depicts a typical start to the day in Indiana; a vibrant and bright sunrise over the vast farmlands.
Jaxson Mishler, CCHS Junior, submitted a canvas painting titled "Portals of Artemis", which shows components of Indiana culture through windows-- clear skies over fields, the common deer, and the color of the state flower: peonies. The gold emphasizes the luxury of the goddess Artemis, but also the golden grain fields of autumn.
Ava Ward, CCHS Junior, submitted "My Dad in His Office", a painting of her father reclined in his chair in his library. He is wearing reading glasses, and the light from his overhead lamp cascades down.
Ava wrote, "Indiana represents family and time spent together at home. My dad values family above all else, so I feel he embodies everything Indiana means to me. I'm so blessed to have an amazing father figure representing love, togetherness, and much more."
Each painting was submitted on a 16x20 inch canvas and was sent to Congressman Jim Banks. Mrs. Adrienne Hoffman, the Visual Arts Teacher, shared the contest with the students and gathered the entries.
Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
