Congressional Art Competition Winners to be Announced Tomorrow at Ceremony

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will announce the winners of the annual Congressional Art Competition during an awards ceremony for students, parents and teachers tomorrow, Thursday, May 16, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Ronald Regan Washington National Airport, in the historic lobby of terminal A.

The ceremony will feature approximately 100 pieces of original art, submitted by District students in grades eight through 12, representing 14 public, charter, private and religious schools. A panel of distinguished artists reviewed the entries from the District, and chose the winners based on technique, creativity, aesthetics, originality, artistic merit, and visual impact. Pamela Harris Lawton, Director of Education Studies at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, was lead juror on the panel, and was joined by Dr. Tony M. McEachern, interim chair of the department of art and associate professor at Howard University, and nationally acclaimed artist Gabriela Lujan,

Norton said she is especially grateful to the 18 volunteer committee members who conduct the competition, plan the ceremony, raise money for the Congressional Art Competition scholarships, and visit the schools to encourage students to participate. The committee is led by co-chairs Donnell Lewis, president of Creative One Source, and Mohammed Neyebpour, Ph.D. candidate at George Washington University.

"Tight budgets have left many schools unable to emphasize the arts as much as they would like, but young, gifted artists continue to multiply and put forth truly impressive pieces of artwork," said Norton. "The work of our 18-member Congressional Art Competition committee to encourage young artists is a valuable public service, as we have particularly seen this year."

The students who submitted artwork for the contest are all invited to take part in tomorrow's ceremony, where the winners will be announced. The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program of the Washington National Opera will perform during the reception, and singer/songwriter Niambi Murray of Doublethink will also perform. Photographer Jeffrey Milstein, currently on exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, will be a guest as well.

Published: May 15, 2013