SURPRISE, AZ—Today, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) announced the winners of the 2023 Congressional Art Competition for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

“I want to congratulate this year’s outstanding Congressional Art Competition winners,” said Congresswoman Lesko. “Each year, I am impressed by the talented young artists in our district. I am grateful to our student artists who participated, and it is my hope that we have even more outstanding artists participate next year!”

The first place winner for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition is Claire Xu for her painting, “Music in the Desert.” Claire is an 11th grade student at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, AZ. Her artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.

Second place went to Molly Budhiraja for her piece, “The Complexity of the Human Mind: A Colorful Reflection.” Molly is an 11th grade student at BASIS Peoria in Peoria, AZ. Her artwork will be displayed in Congresswoman Lesko’s Washington, D.C. Office for one year.

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. Students interested in participating in the 2024 competition can contact Lesko’s Surprise District Office at 623-776-7911 for more information.