Madison Ly, a student at Ernest Righetti High School, was recently announced as the winner of the 2018 Congressional Art Competition. Madison’s winning piece, titled The American Dream, will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol throughout 2018.
Students from across California’s 24th Congressional District were encouraged to participate in the annual competition. A total of 65 entries were submitted from several Central Coast high schools. The winning artwork was hand-selected by an independent panel of distinguished local artists May 3 at the First Thursday evening events in Santa Barbara and Art After Dark exhibit in San Luis Obispo. Kaitlyn Corbo, also a student at Righetti, was awarded the People’s Choice award (based on Facebook likes) for her work Sweet Creature, (pictured).
Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) congratulated Ly and other winners, including Paso Robles High School’s Sarah Del Valle for her painting Soldier and Dos Pueblos High School student Alexia Li for her piece Constantly Risking Absurdity, which won second and third place, respectively. Honorable mention was given to Emma Robertson from San Marcos High School for What the Mind Creates. The second, third, People’s Choice and honorable mention pieces will be displayed throughout Rep. Carbajal’s Washington, D.C., Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Maria offices.
The Congressional Art Competition was established in 1982 to encourage the creative talents of high school students throughout the nation. Ly will be invited to Washington, D.C., in June to view her artwork on display in the U.S. Capitol and attend a ceremony for winners across the country.
This article appears in May 17-24, 2018.