North Paulding Student's Art Recognized With Congressional Award

DALLAS, GA — A North Paulding High School student was recognized Wednesday as a local winner in the 2020 Congressional Art Competition.

Alyx Bontrager’s illustration, “Fractured Portrait,” was among six honorees announced by U.S. Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia. Because of the pandemic, all student art was submitted digitally.

Local judges, chosen by the Rome Area Council of the Arts, chose winners for the top three places, along with two honorable mentions. Nearly 200 local residents voted online for the People’s Choice Award.

“Even though many schools remain closed, students across Northwest Georgia worked hard to share their creative talents with our community,” Graves said. “I congratulate this year’s winners and thank Kay Chumbler with Heritage First Bank in Rome and Ali Booker with the Rome Area Council for the Arts, along with our judging panel, for their partnership and enthusiasm during this year’s competition.”

The honorees are:

First Place: Rebecca Ackerman, Unity Christian School, “View of Blue”

Second Place: Elle Smith, Darlington School, “Pink Fan Self Portrait”

Third Place: Alyx Bontrager, North Paulding High School, “Fractured Portrait”

Honorable Mention: Jessica Palmer, Murray High School, “New Dawn”

Honorable Mention: Stephanie Perez Acosta, Ringgold High School, “Woman Up”

People’s Choice Award: Caleb Faulknor, Murray County High School, “Midnight Cicadas”

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent across the nation and in each congressional district. Twenty-seven pieces were submitted for the competition by 20 student artists from 12 schools across the 14th Congressional District.