FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 10, 2014                                                                  
CONTACT:  Rebecca Cruse, Assistant Director, SDAC

STUDENTS GET CHANCE TO SEND ART TO WASHINGTON

PIERRE, S.D. – The competition that puts the artwork of South Dakota students in the nation’s Capital is coming up, and the South Dakota Arts Council, in cooperation with U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, is now accepting entries.

Each spring, a nationwide high school arts competition is sponsored by the members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressional Art Competition is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent in the nation, as well as in each congressional district.

The contest is open to all South Dakota high school students. The first-place winning entry will be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the United States Capitol for one year. The winning artist will be invited to a reception highlighting their artwork in conjunction with the exhibit ribbon-cutting ceremony. The second-place winning entry will be displayed in Rep. Noem’s Washington, D.C., office. Cash awards are also given to the first- and second-place winners by South Dakotans for the Arts, a non-profit, non-partisan agency whose primary purpose is to advance the arts in South Dakota.

The Arts Council will only accept digital submissions on behalf of Rep. Noem. Students should send high-resolution JPEG images along with PDFs of the student release forms to rebecca.cruse@state.sd.us. Submissions must be received by 8 a.m., CDT, Wednesday, April 23.  Winners will be notified April 25 and will be responsible for shipping their artwork and application forms to the SDAC office. The South Dakota Arts Council will have the artwork framed and will ship it to Washington, D.C., for the student.

Please review the artwork specifications and guidelines before submitting.

The South Dakota Arts Council, an office of the South Dakota Department of Tourism, is a state agency serving South Dakotans and their communities through the arts with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the State of South Dakota.

The South Dakota Department of Tourism is comprised of the Office of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council, and the South Dakota State Historical Society. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen.