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Congressional Art Competition

High School Art Exhibition for the 1^st U.S. Congressional District

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. One student from each Congressional District is chosen each year for the honor of having their work exhibited in the U.S. Capitol building for one year. While this year’s exhibition is, due to COVID restrictions, being held online the competition was just as competitive. This year 109 students from nine schools and 12 different teachers from all over Georgia Congressional District 1 participated. Twenty-five works were chosen by juror Casey McGuire for the exhibition including the Overall winner, whose work will travel to Washington D.C., as well as first-third place winners and several honorable mentions.

Juror:

Casey McGuire is an Associate Professor of Foundations and Sculpture at the University of West Georgia. McGuire received her BFA in Studio Arts from Alfred University and her MFA in Sculpture from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her installations have been installed at Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI; Alexander Brest Gallery, Jacksonville, FL; Biggin Gallery, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, and she was part of Finding Home: The Global Refugee Crisis, University of Central Florida Gallery, Orlando, FL. McGuire was featured in the October 2009 issue of Sculpture Magazine.

Juror Statement:

I appreciate being given the opportunity to see what incredible work is coming out of high schools in the Savannah area. The overall winner was chosen based on considerations of color, mark making and contemporary portraiture. It’s desaturated pallet and strong bold brushstrokes make this Portrait extremely compelling. The subtle gaze of the figure allows the complexity of the mark to show, and the shy personality of the individual to be conveyed. The first place winner chose to create a self-portrait with a thoughtful and complex composition. And has a smart sense of space within the image. The second place winner created an extraordinarily complex painting. The color, depth and gaze of the figure has great texture and presents. The light is so strong in the work, warm and earthy. The third-place winners drawing appeared to be a photograph to me and drove me to look deeper into the medium just to make sure my eyes were seeing clearly. Lovely use of contrast in the composition. The honorable mentions I chose based on their concepts. The consideration of constructing narrative or looking at their environment to tell a story is what drove my choices for honorable mention.

Students with work selected are:

New Hampstead High School: Teacher – John Hoyman

Anthony Rodriguez

Savannah Arts Academy: Teacher – Steve Schetski

Abigail Goldsmith, Third Place

Emmaline Kim

Younggil Jo, Honorable Mention

Amy Oh, First Place, Honorable Mention

Taylor White

Lanchi Hong, Overall Winner

Savannah Arts Academy: Teacher – Kinte Taylor

Abigail Goldsmith