In 2025, Corbin High School’s Kelsi Earles won the Congressional Art Competition for Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District with her painting entitled, “Daydream.” In 2024, Corbin High School’s Lydia Engle took home the honor with a painting entitled “The Spork Queen.” In 2022, Corbin High School’s Quincy Calico painting “Somewhere In Between” won.
Could another student from Corbin High School or a student from another local high school or middle school win the award this year? It is too soon to tell.
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced Thursday that he is inviting high school and middle school students from Southern and Eastern Kentucky to participate in the 2026 Congressional Art Competition – Celebrating 250 Years of America.
The winner from Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District will have their artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building for one year.
Winning students from across the country are awarded two free airline tickets to attend a national reception in Washington, D.C. this summer to celebrate their achievement and see their artwork on display.
“The Congressional Art Competition allows our artistic students to shine on Capitol Hill. Every year, our students enter remarkable artwork for the competition, and I look forward to seeing their creativity in celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary,” said Rogers, Dean of the House. “Hundreds of thousands of visitors get to see a little piece of Southern and Eastern Kentucky when they visit Washington, and I’m always proud to show off the incredible talent that we have in Kentucky’s Appalachian region.”
To participate in the competition, students must submit a photo of their original artwork, along with the required student release form, by emailing them to rogers.press@mail.house.gov. The deadline to submit artwork is April 24, 2026.
Acceptable mediums include paintings, drawings, collages, prints, mixed media, computer-generated art and photographs.
The artwork must be an original concept that is two-dimensional, not exceeding 26” x 26” x 4” and cannot weigh more than 15 pounds. The winning artwork must be framed within the required dimensions before being displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building.
Eligible students must attend middle or high school in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes the following 33 counties: Whitley, Knox, Laurel Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Wayne and Wolfe counties.
For more information, contact the Somerset office at 606-679-8346 or email rogers.press@mail.house.gov.
For more information about the Congressional Art Competition in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, visit halrogers.house.gov/congressional-art-competition.
