In their first year entering the 12th Congressional Art Show, students at Benton High School made quite a splash.
Art teacher Amber Akes said of the 201 pieces on display in the show from around the congressional district, six BHS students will have their work on display for the next month at the Schmidt Center on the campus of Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.
Jeraka Soetlo, Triston Bigham, Hannah Dawson, Sydney Browning, Alyssa McClintock and Fallon Dawson were recognized for their artistic endeavors during an awards ceremony last week at the college.
The theme for this year's competition was "Illinois' Bicentennial: 200 years of artistry."
Dawson earned a third place with her pencil drawing titled "157," a pencil drawing of presidents Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. It will be moved from the Schmidt Center to the Carbondale office of Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) at the end of May where it will remain on display for the remainder of 2018.
The top award in the competition went to Marion High School student Reed Absher. His artwork will hang in the Cannon Tunnel in the U.S. Capitol for the next year.
In a news release on Friday, Bost congratulated the winners and expressed his pleasure at the quality of the submissions. "The results were amazing," he said.
The 2018 Congressional Art Competition photo album can be viewed as facebook.com/repbost.
