Osseo Area Schools Students Recognized in Congressional Art Contest

Information provided by the office of Rep. Erik Paulsen

Rep. Erik Paulsen (MN-03) awarded the grand prize in the 2013 Third District Congressional Art Competition to Park Center Senior High senior, Virginia Yang. 

Representative Paulsen, who organizes the annual competition, presented awards during a ceremony at the Bloomington Theatre & Art Center, who is a partner for the arts competition. 

Virginia will travel to Washington, D.C. soon to see her winning artwork “See it with your Eyes” put on display for the millions of people who visit the nation's Capitol each year. 

"Minnesota clearly has some incredible young artistic talent and I want to thank all of the students who participated in this year's competition, as well as their teachers who inspire them every day,” said Rep. Paulsen. “Congratulations to Virginia on being chosen this year’s winner and I look forward to seeing her artwork on display in our nation's Capitol soon.”

“This year’s theme “Minnesota, the North Star State” brought out a lot of the beauty of our state. The students really captured the aspects and activities that Minnesota offers all of us and our state’s visitors.”

The Congressional Art Competition was established in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the talents of young artists. This is the fourth contest organized by Congressman Paulsen. This year, 80 students from 9 high schools took part.

Osseo School Districts students were awarded the following

Grand Prize

Name: Virginia Yang

Title: “See it with your Eyes”

School/Instructor: Park Center/Ms. Laura Meersman

Honorable Mentions:

Name:  Mary Pat Thune

Title: “Endless Fields”

School/Instructor: Osseo/Ms. Jennifer Cramer

Name: Zach Wiome

Title: “Untitled”

School/Instructor: Park Center/Ms. Laura Meersman

Name: Dustin Pumarlo

Title:  “Minnesota at a Glance”

School/Instructor:  Park Center/Ms. Laura Meersman