Guidelines for the 2007 Congressional Art Competition posted on Web site

High school students from across Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties are invited to participate in the 2007 Congressional Art Competition.

"Year in and year out, our district has so many gifted young artists, that it's always very difficult to choose a winner," Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, RAmherst, said. "I don't expect this year to be any different. I'm always amazed by the high level of artistic talent displayed by our high school students."

The winning student from Reynolds' district, to be selected in early May, will have his or her artwork displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., for the coming year.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony with district winners from across the country will be held in Washington this summer. The winner may also receive two round-trip plane tickets to Washington, D.C., from Southwest Airlines to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new display in the U.S. Capitol Building. The winning student may also be eligible for a Savannah College of Art and Design scholarship.

Participating students may choose from seven artistic categories: painting, drawing, collage, print, mixed media, computer generated art or photography. The art pieces will be selected first at the county level, then at the district level. Two honorable mention selections will be displayed in the Congressional District offices of Reynolds for the year.

Interested participants should contact their high school art teacher or county art council for more information. For guidelines and rules, visit the Web site www. reynolds. house. gov.

The first congressional art competition was held in 1982. Since then, hundreds of thousands of high school students have participated in the contest across the country. The winning entries from last year's competition currently hang in the Cannon Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol.

"This unique competition provides the opportunity to view outstanding student artwork on both a local and national level," Reynolds said. "It's something I look forward to every year."