High School Art in the U.S. Capitol
by Kitty Felde
Congressman David Valadao from California welcomes high school artist Tanya Fuentes from his district to see her work displayed in the basement of the U.S.Capitol. “Every year, I am amazed by the talent and vision on display from students in the Central Valley,” says Congressman Valadao. “I look forward to seeing the incredible works students create this year.”
“In Episode 11 of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast, Fina is on the hunt for Chickcharney, the mysterious bird that pooped on the President during the State of the Union address. She’s wandering around the tunnel that connects the U.S. Capitol with the House office buildings and says:
“That’s funny. I never noticed that before. One side of the Cannon tunnel has all that high school art. They’re not very good. Oh, that one is! But on the other wall, there’s nothing but giant pipes, all painted white. I guess nobody notices the ugly wall because you’re too busy looking at the paintings.””
The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982, a program for encouraging nationwide artistic creativity by high school students through art exhibits in the tunnels connecting the Capitol to the House Office Buildings. Then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill said he had no objection to an exhibit as long as it was conducted at no expense to the government.
Each member of Congress is invited to choose one piece of art from high school students from their districts. The winning art is displayed in the Cannon Tunnel for a year and artists are invited to a Washington, D.C. reception.
You can see why they thought putting art on the wall was a good idea.
This is the Cannon Tunnel. Those pipes extend all the way from the U.S. Capitol to the Cannon House Office Building. They hang the art on the opposite wall so that you’re distracted from seeing all the exposed infrastructure.
This being Congress, there are of course rules about size, media, and what the House Office Building Commission calls “Suitability Guidelines.” Subjects of the art cannot contain political controversy, and nothing gruesome. And even if the artwork passes muster with your own member of Congress, if it offends some other member, they can ask to have the work removed. The Commission says this is because, “While it is not the intent to censor any artwork, we do wish to avoid artwork that is potentially inappropriate for display in this highly travelled area leading to the Capitol.”
That’s probably why you’ll see lots of patriotic themes and self portraits.
More than 10,000 pieces of art have been displayed over the years to millions of visitors.
If you know a high school artist, encourage them to enter next April’s competition. You can find rules and more information here.
Oh, and if you don’t know who your member of Congress is, just click here and enter your zip code.