Pasco Reporter

Land O’ Lakes, FL:  On May 5, 2023, Congressman Gus Bilirakis is proud to announce that Madeline Teague, a senior at Hernando High School, has won the Best in Show at the 2023 Congressional Art Competition, which was held in Land O’ Lakes last night. The title of Miss Teague’s artwork, which uses oil, acrylic and glitter is Amour.  As the overall winner, Miss Teague has won a trip to Washington, D.C. for a reception with other winners throughout the country.  Her artwork will also be hung in the Capitol for the next year.

The panel of judges, consisting of volunteers from Hernando and Pasco County Fine Arts Councils, also picked a top piece of artwork from each county.  These beautiful works will be hung in each of Congressman Bilirakis’s local offices for the next year.  For Pasco County, Katelyn Morrison from J.W. Mitchell High School was selected for her piece entitled On Repeat.  For Hernando County, Natalie Hartman of Springhill Christian Academy, was selected for her submission entitled Faber Est Suae Fortunae.    And in Citrus County, Illiana Enger of Lecanto High School earned the top prize for her creation entitled Upstream.

 “As a strong supporter of the arts in education, I’m proud to host the annual Congressional Art Competition in my district.  Art enriches life and is an important part of a well-rounded education. Each year we receive so many incredible submissions from local high school students.   I’d like to thank the volunteers who serve as judges - they have such a difficult task.  I’m also grateful to the local sponsors of this special event who donate prizes for each of the winners.  Additionally, I appreciate the art teachers in our community who have helped instill a passion for artistic expression in these talented teens.  The images they’ve created on their canvases give us unique insight into the way in which they view and interact with the world around them. Their teachers have helped to cultivate a gift that will hopefully serve as a creative outlet throughout their entire lives,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis. 

 Original source can be found here.