ROCKVILLE, MD – Today, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) announced the winner and runners-up of Maryland’s Eighth District 2023 Congressional Art Competition. This year’s winner is Olivia Ensign from Albert Einstein High School in Kensington. Olivia’s submission, “The Memory Quilt: Pieces of Myself,” will hang in the U.S. Capitol Building for one year alongside winning art pieces from congressional districts across the nation. Additionally, the winning entry and a larger pool of honorees from the district will be shown at local arts center VisArts (155 Gibbs Street, Rockville, MD 20850) through May 7, 2023. Rep. Raskin also launched a virtual art gallery featuring all submissions received.
The Memory Quilt: Pieces of Myself by Olivia Ensign of Albert Einstein High School
“Congratulations to Olivia Ensign of Albert Einstein High School for creating a spellbinding piece of art and winning this year’s Eighth District Congressional Art Competition,” said Rep. Raskin. “Students across Maryland’s Eighth District amaze me with their boundless creativity and precocious techniques, and this year’s first place winner, our 17 runners-up and the entire pool of entries will dazzle our community.”
“I am exceptionally grateful to Rockville arts center VisArts for providing the online submission portal and hosting our in-person gallery—back for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. I also want to thank our panel of phenomenal judges, who generously shared their time and dedication to make this competition a resounding success,” Rep Raskin continued. “I encourage everyone to check out the immense talent of our student art community online or at the beautiful in-person VisArts gallery.”
To see VisArts’ hours, click here.
The second place winners include: Alanna Sidlowski, Betsi Ralda-Romera, Dami Kim, Dhruv Narang, Elizabeth Daly, Ella Spirtas, Etian Huang, Joseph Bloomfield, Lily Pacuit, Lucinda Sun, Mikae Fasihi, Nari Kim, Natalie McMurry, Olivia Dietrich, Rebecca Rothstein, Ryan Crothers and Yael Chinn.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Now in its 42nd year, more than 650,000 high school students have participated since the competition’s inception in 1982.
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