Nicole Evans of Lake Braddock Secondary won first place in the competition. Her work will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. Pictured with her is U.S. Rep Gerry Connolly (D-11) and Suzanne Bissell of the ARTSFAIRFAX Board of Directors. Photo by Steve Hibbard.
U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) hosted his 10th annual Congressional Art Competition Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 12, 2018, at the Workhouse Arts Center’s McGuire Woods Gallery (Building 16) in Lorton. The show featured 130 submissions from 105 artists in oils, pastels, acrylics, photography, computer graphics, pencil, pen and ink, and charcoal, representing 25 different high schools and home-schoolers in Fairfax and Prince William counties.
“This is our 10th annual Congressional Arts Competition. We’re very proud of the fact that we have 25 high schools as well as home-schoolers participating this year. There are over 138 pieces; we started out our first year with 70, so we’ve almost doubled, and I think it’s an exciting thing for young people to see their art actually hung in a gallery like any other professional piece of art,” said Connolly. “We think it’s a great opportunity to see the incredible talent and artistic expression coming out of our young people.”
The first-place winner was Nicole Evans of Lake Braddock Secondary. She won $1,000 plus her artwork will be hung in the U.S. Capitol for one year. Evans and her family will also be invited to a reception at the U.S. Capitol along with the winners from other Congressional Districts from around the country.
The second-place award winner was Ashley Kim of Centreville High School. She won $750 and was named the Workhouse High School Rising Star, which means her piece will be displayed in the Workhouse Gallery for one year.
The third-place winner was Alessandra Rodriguez of Heritage Christian School; fourth-place winner was Maya Kirkpatrick of Chantilly High School; fifth-place winner was Corban Hubler, home-schooled from Springfield; and sixth-place tie: Esha Saini of Thomas Jefferson High School; and Esther Park of Oakton High School. The sponsors and judges included: ArtsFairfax, the Workhouse Arts Foundation, The Prince William Arts Society, Arts Herndon, Clearbrook Center of the Arts, and Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE).