On April 30, 2021, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger released the following statement announcing the First District’s winning entry in the 2021 Congressional Art Competition.
“I would like to congratulate Luke Pennington on winning Tennessee’s First District spot in the Congressional Art Competition,” said Congresswoman Harshbarger. “Luke gets the awesome honor of having his work of art displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building. I would also like to congratulate the other participants on their great works of art and thank our wonderful judges for helping pick the winner!”
This year’s art competition winner is Luke Pennington, a junior at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport. His winning piece, a drawing titled “Working Stiff,” is pictured above. In the words of Luke, “Working Stiff tells the invigorating tale of a lil fella that is just slightly overwhelmed by all the equipment he has to handle at his new job as a board operator at a radio station.”
The announcement was made by Congresswoman Harshbarger at a friends and family virtual reception.
Each spring, a nation-wide high school arts competition is sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2021 Artistic Discovery Contest also known as the Congressional Art Competition is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the young artistic talent in the nation, as well as in our First Congressional District.
The winning artwork announced on April 30 from our district will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol alongside the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. The winning artwork will also be featured on House.gov's Congressional Art Competition page.
There is always time to think ahead and plan for our 2022 Congressional Art Competition that will open early next year for all high school students in our district. The following is a summary of guidelines:
Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it will be framed by our office and must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions.
- Paintings - including oil, acrylics, and watercolor
- Drawings - including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
- Collages - must be two dimensional
- Prints - including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints
- Mixed Media - use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
- Computer-generated art
- Photography
All entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted. Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing).
A full list of the rules and a checklist for competition participants can be found on House.gov.