Braley Announces 2012 Congressional Art Competition Winner

North Fayette High School student's painting will hang in US Capitol for a year

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today announced that Kelsey Feldman, a resident of West Union and a 11^th grader at North Fayette High School, is the Iowa First Congressional District winner of the annual Congressional Art Competition, "An Artistic Discovery."

The Congressional Art Competition, first held in 1982, is a nationwide high school arts competition sponsored by the US House of Representatives.  One winning piece of artwork from each House district is selected to be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the US Capitol Building in Washington for the following year.  In addition to having her artwork displayed in the Capitol, Feldman will receive two round-trip airline tickets to Washington, DC.

"Kelsey showed impressive talent and creativity," Braley said. "Her submission really stood out among her Iowa peers, and I congratulate her for winning this year's competition.  For the next year, as visitors, employees and officials pass through the Capitol, they will be able to enjoy Kelsey's outstanding painting.  I'm looking forward to her visiting us in Washington, DC."

Any high school student from the First Congressional District of Iowa was eligible to submit their artwork for consideration.  To enter, students submitted a digital image of their artwork via Braley's website.  The submissions were compiled into an internet gallery for public voting.  This year, 64 works of art from across eastern Iowa were submitted as part of the competition.

Full results of the 2012 First District Art Competition follow; to view all the pieces of art submitted in this year's competition, visit: http://braley.house.gov/art-competition

2012 Congressional Art Competition Winners:

1^st Place

Kelsey Feldman

North Fayette High School

Streetlight

2^nd Place

Amanda Whitfield

Davenport West High School

Beautiful Bridge

3^rd Place

Lindsey Kite

Jesup High School

Flower Picture

1^st Honorable Mention

Paul Knipper

Western Dubuque High School

Cocos en las Palmeras

2^nd Honorable Mention

Hannah Pagel

Sumner-Fredericksburg High School

Our Heritage

3^rd Honorable Mention

Allie Renner

Jesup High School

Follow the Spiders

List of Past Iowa First District Art Competition Winners:

2007    Jonathan Welser, Davenport

2008    Stephanie Tarnish, Davenport

2009    Mitch Doll, Davenport

2010    Emily Schroeder, Cedar Falls

2011    Krista Stork, Dubuque

2012    Kelsey Feldman, West Union