Golden Announces Auburn, Bangor, Harrington, Lewiston, and Rangeley Students as Congressional Art Competition Winners
WASHINGTON — This week, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) revealed the winners of the 2022 Congressional Art Competition for Maine’s Second District. Students from Auburn, Bangor, Harrington, Lewiston, and Rangeley were all selected to be honored, with first place going to Hannah Wojdakowski from Bangor High School.
‘Inside,’ submitted by Wojdakowski, will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building alongside winning artists from districts across the country.
“It is always a pleasure to see the creativity that students across the district display in their Congressional Art Competition submissions,” said Congressman Golden. “We are lucky to have such talented and dedicated students in Maine and I look forward to seeing the winning piece in the halls of the Capitol.”
Competition judges Sam E. Cote and Mary McManus selected the winners.
“I love this piece because I recognize the balance between freedom and strategy of the overall composition,” said Cote of Wojdakowski’s piece. “Every brush stroke seems thoughtfully placed, but freely painted. The artist successfully pulls you through the entire piece just based on the color, flow and movement of the brush strokes.”
“This piece instantly drew me in based on its vibrant colors and line work,” said McManus of ‘Inside.’ “The composition has such great movement and does not have one true resting point for the viewer's eye. The horizontal lines act almost as stairs that help wind the flow throughout the image. I am really caught by the way this piece is balanced despite its high energy with the moving lines and the bright colors. There is this bold star in the upper half of the image that pulls you in and provides a sense of grounding. This piece has a wonderful flow and almost dance to it.”
Ava Blanchette, from Lewiston High School, came in second place with ‘Eyes on You.’
Ella Shaffer, from Rangeley Lakes Regional School, entered ‘The Look’ and was third place.
Ahmednur Isaaq, from Lewiston High School, received an honorable mention for ‘Window of Color.’
Erik Carson, from Edward Little High School, also received an honorable mention for ‘Sunshine.’
The final honorable mention went to Kaycee McGuire, also from Narraguagus High School, with ‘Rainy Day.’
The Maine College of Art and Maine Arts Commission, as well as the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, partner each year to choose the winning submissions for the Congressional Art Competition. The Competition began in 1982 to help Members of Congress support young artists from the districts.
You can see the winning entries from last year here.
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