The Art of Jessie Hart
Student Artwork Displayed at U.S. Capitol
Hart’s childhood portrait is currently hanging in the Capitol Tunnel. Image courtesy of Jessie Hart.
Oct 3, 2019
The Congressional Art Competition is a nationwide visual art contest for high school students. The winning artists are recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., and their art is displayed for a year at the U.S. Capitol. Junior Jessie Hart found out about the competition from McIntosh art teacher Carisa Green and chose to submit a childhood self-portrait she had drawn in class about a month before.
“Originally I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get the drawing turned into the Congressional Art Competition on time since I had it going through the Kiwanis Competition before that, but it all worked out,” said Hart.
After it was announced that Hart’s piece was selected to represent her congressional district, she was invited to Washington, D.C. to see her art hung in the Capitol.
“My mom and I flew out to D.C. a few days early to see the city,” said Hart. “We did tours to see the important monuments and went to museums. The day of the ceremony, […] we walked through the capitol tunnel, which is where all the art hangs. I took pictures with my piece and really enjoyed seeing everybody else’s. We got complimentary breakfast and then went to the main part of the ceremony, which was mostly just listening to representatives and guest speakers, and watching a slideshow of all the art.”
After celebrating this accomplishment, Hart is seeking to further her artistic abilities over the course of the 2019-2020 school year.
“Now that I’m in AP Art, my next step is developing my portfolio as well as I can, which is a challenge I’ve been really enjoying,” said Hart.
Hart also spoke about the doors this opportunity has opened for her.
“It’s been amazing how much recognition winning this competition has given me, which was not something I expected at all,” said Hart. “I think that was the greatest impact the competition had, aside from being able to put it on resumes. I was honestly shocked at the support and excitement that other people had for me when I won the competition, since it’s usually just my family that gets really excited.”
