Congressman Fattah Announces District Winner of 2016 Congressional Art Competition

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02) announced that Denise Kemp is the winner of this year's Congressional Art Competition for her pencil drawing of Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. For the first year ever, the winner will also receive a scholarship to attend a 4 week summer program held at the University of Pennsylvania, courtesy of the Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs. 

Four student submissions were selected by an independent panel of judges and announced as winners during an awards ceremony on May 17 at Congressman Fattah's Philadelphia district office. The runner-up winner is Ariel Akbar with a photograph entitled "Violate the Bounds of Platitude".  The second runner-up winner is Quamere Brown, with pencil, pen and ink portrait of an old man entitled "Former Glory".  The final honor was awarded to Haley Schwartz for her photograph, "On a Roll". All four honored artists are high school students in Pennsylvania's Second Congressional District.

"Every year I am inspired by the level of talent and enthusiasm that our students bring to the Congressional Art Competition, which gives  them the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity," Congressman Fattah said. "I am proud to announce Denise Kemp as the winner and especially excited to be able to offer her the chance to pursue her passion's further with the help of our friends at the University of Pennsylvania."

"The University of Pennsylvania School of Design is proud to present Denise Kemp with a full scholarship to the Art: Summer at Penn program," said Adrian Castelli at Julian Krinsky. "Denise's hard work and dedication to her art is inspiring.  In addition to the Congressional Art Competition award, she will have the privilege of spending four weeks with a group of the most talented high school artists in the world at this enriching program. While hosting students from all over the world, the summer program introduces hard working, local art students to all that Penn has to offer. For this reason, we are proud to partner with the Congressional Art Competition on this incredible effort."

Kemp's art will be displayed at the United States Capitol starting in June, until May 2017. She will join hundreds of other winners from around the country on June 23 to be honored at the Capitol during a reception for all district art competition winners.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to offer an opportunity for members of Congress to recognize the creative and artistic talents of their young constituents. Since its beginnings, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nation-wide competition.

www.fattah.house.gov         

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

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http://www.fattah.house.gov