{"id":296843,"date":"2026-06-05T06:01:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/296843\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:01:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:01:31","slug":"from-valrico-to-washington-local-students-art-headed-to-u-s-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/296843\/","title":{"rendered":"From Valrico To Washington: Local Students\u2019 Art Headed To U.S. Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>First place \u2014 \u201cThe Capitol,\u201d by Ireland Cates of Bloomingdale High School.<\/p>\n

Student artists from Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) earned top recognition in the\u202f2026 Congressional Art Competition, a district\u2011wide showcase announced by Congressman Vern Buchanan celebrating the creativity of high school students across Florida\u2019s 16th Congressional District. <\/p>\n

This year, 31 student artworks were submitted for consideration. HCPS students claimed first, second and third-place honors, underscoring the strength of the district\u2019s visual arts programs. <\/p>\n

The\u202ffirst\u2011place winner\u202fwas\u202fIreland Cates, a sophomore at\u202fBloomingdale High School\u202fin Valrico. Her piece,\u202f\u201cThe Capitol,\u201d\u202fwill be displayed for one year in Washington, D.C., in the corridor connecting the U.S. Capitol and the Cannon House Office Building. <\/p>\n

Second place\u202fwas awarded to\u202fOlivia Fields\u202fof\u202fRiverview High School\u202fin Riverview for\u202f\u201cProduction, Consumerism, Stars, and Stripes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Third-place\u202fhonors went to\u202fMadelyn Bowers\u202fof\u202fBloomingdale High School\u202ffor her artwork,\u202f\u201cRepetition.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Second place \u2014 \u201cProduction, Consumerism, Stars, and Stripes,\u201d by Olivia Fields of Riverview High School.
\"\"Third place \u2014 \u201cRepetition,\u201d by Madelyn Bowers of Bloomingdale High School.<\/p>\n

HCPS students also received recognition in the competition\u2019s\u202fFacebook Fan Favorite Awards, which honor student works selected by the public and displayed in the congressman\u2019s offices in Washington, D.C.; Bradenton; and Brandon. Fan Favorite Award winners include\u202fMalik Dante Walker\u202fof\u202fSumner High School\u202fin Riverview for\u202f\u201cJammin\u2019 Under the Sun\u201d\u202fand\u202fAdam Nuykin\u202fof\u202fSumner High School\u202ffor\u202f\u201cMake a Splash.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Facebook Fan Favorite Award \u2014 \u201cJammin\u2019 Under the Sun,\u201d by Malik Dante Walker of Sumner High School.
\"\"Facebook Fan Favorite Award \u2014 \u201cMake a Splash,\u201d by Adam Nuykin of Sumner High School.
\"\"Facebook Fan Favorite Award \u2014 \u201cJustice for All,\u201d by Maya Ramos of Parrish Community High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m incredibly impressed by the talent and creativity showcased by the students who participated in this year\u2019s Congressional Art Competition,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cEach submission reflected remarkable skill, originality and hard work.\u201d <\/p>\n

The judging panel included representatives from State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, including faculty and administrative leaders in art, academic affairs and public engagement. <\/p>\n

\"\"Ireland Cates and Madelyn Bowers.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Art Competition is held annually to recognize and encourage artistic talent among high school students across participating congressional districts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First place \u2014 \u201cThe Capitol,\u201d by Ireland Cates of Bloomingdale High School. Student artists from Hillsborough County Public…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-296843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}