Congressman George Whitesides Announces Winners of 2025 Congressional Art Competition

SANTA CLARITA, CA – Today, Congressman George Whitesides announced the winners of this year’s Congressional Art Competition. 

The following students were selected for their exceptional work:

• 1st Place - “Flipped,” a digital art piece by Ellie Sienna Song from West Ranch High School
• 2nd Place - “A Collage of Self-Understanding,” a digital collage piece by Andrea Lucia Espinoza Castillo from Eastside High School
• 3rd Place - “Between you and Me,” an oil painting on canvas by Audrey Kim from Valencia High School

• 4th Place - “Potential” a charcoal piece by Eliana Kalea Contreras-Johnson from Quartz Hill High School 

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The first place winner, Ellie, described her work by stating, “In a world shrouded in fear for the future, discontent, and depression, I feel we often get lost in the dark moments, forgetting about the innocence we once held. As children, we all had the natural ability to imagine magical fantasies amidst our everyday lives. I wanted to portray that feeling in his piece by playing with the viewer’s sense of reality with this flipped image and the flying turtles.”

The top four pieces will be proudly displayed in various locations representing the community. The first place winner’s artwork will be exhibited in the U.S. Capitol, while the second place entry will be displayed in Congressman Whitesides’ D.C. office. The 3rd and 4th place winners will have their works shown in the Congressman’s two district offices.

The panel of judges for this year’s competition came from all across the district, and represented a variety of artistic backgrounds, including:

• Donna Weil - Lakes and Valleys Art Gallery
• Cynthia Alvarado - Museum of Art and History (Museum Curatorial)
• Christine Mugnolo - Antelope Valley College
• Antoinette De Paiva - Artuity Studio
• Paula Bradely - The Acton Agua Dulce Arts Association
• Lauren Chomuk- Drawn2Art Valencia
• Evelyn Rivas - Antelope Valley Union High School District
• Merissa Naftulin - Santa Clarita Artists Association
• Kerry Summers - Castaic Union School District
• Naomi Young - Santa Clarita Artists Association
• Catherine Wang - Cal Arts
• Roscoe Hayden - Cal Arts

Each spring, Members of Congress host the Congressional Art Competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent across their districts and our nation. Since the Artistic Discovery Competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

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