Washington, D.C. -  U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson announced today that the judging for his annual high school art competition, “An Artistic Discovery: The 2008 Congressional Art Competition,” will be held April 11 at the School of Saint Thomas More, 3901 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign.

     “I’m happy to do whatever we can to foster the creative talents of our young people,” Rep. Johnson said. “This event gets better every year and it’s always a thrill for these students to be able to compete to have their work displayed in the Capitol.”

     Student artwork from around the 15^th Congressional District will be displayed at Saint Thomas More from April 7-11. Visitors are welcome to view the work during the week between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Visitors should check into the office when they arrive.

     A special event, free and open to the public, will be held from 7:30-9 p.m. Friday to view the artwork and announce the winners.

     The winning selection will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year. The second-place finisher has the option of having the work displayed in Rep. Johnson’s Washington, D.C. congressional office.

     Thirteen schools from around the district are participating this year. They are Rantoul, Mahomet-Seymour, Champaign Centennial, Danville, Martinsville, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, Mt. Carmel, Woodland, Robinson, Cissna Park, the High School of Saint Thomas More, Sullivan and Hutsonville high schools.

   Judges this year are Lisa Costello, director of the Parkland Art Gallery; Melissa Merli, arts and entertainment writer for the Champaign News-Gazette; and Michael Schweggman, owner of Boneyard Pottery of Champaign. 
 

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