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Rep. Schneider to Host Congressional Art Competition Reception and Awards Program

April 21, 2017

Submissions from 45 area students will be displayed and winning entries will be announced

Congressman Brad Schneider will host a reception to showcase submissions and announce the winners of this year's Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery, at Vernon Area Public Library on Monday, April 24 at 4:00pm.

The reception will display the artwork submitted from 45 students from 12 high schools across the district.

A panel of three expert judges from across the Tenth District – Amy Amdur, Miguel de Baca, and Lori Nerheim -- has selected first, second, and third place winners which will be announced at the event. The winning entry will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year. The second and third place pieces will be displayed in the Congressman's District and Washington D.C. offices, respectively.

The first prize winner will also receive two round-trip airline tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines to Washington, DC and have the opportunity to attend the Congressional Art Competition award ceremony. At that ceremony, our district's winner will see their winning artwork hung in the Capitol, and be joined by other first prize entries from the other 434 congressional districts.

This event is open to the public and no RSVP is required.

Who: Congressman Brad Schneider and residents of Illinois's 10th Congressional District.

What: Congressional Art Competition Reception and Awards Program

When: Monday, April 24, 2017

4:00 – 5:30pm

Where: Vernon Area Public Library

300 Olde Half Day Rd

Lincolnshire, IL 60069

About the Judges:

  • Amy Amdur is a Highland Park native. Amdur cultivated her love of art from a young age, starting painting classes at the age of 5. That summer she exhibited her early paintings at an art show in her hometown, where she was offered $25 for a painting, a payment she graciously turned away. Upon graduating from Northwestern University, Amdur worked for her father, a developer who revitalized downtown Highland Park. Amy started Amdur Productions, a company specializing in art festival production, 34 years ago, and grew the business. Today, based in Highland Park, Amdur Productions has received national acclaim for having organized and directed many of the country's most prestigious juried art festivals, including the Port Clinton Art Festival, Gold Coast Art Fair in Chicago's Grant Park, Art at the Glen Town Center, the Chicago Botanic Garden Art Festival, Millennium Art Festival, Artfest Michigan Avenue, the West Loop Art Festival and many others throughout the greater Chicago metro area.
  • Miguel de Baca is an associate professor of modern and contemporary art history at Lake Forest College, where he is also the chair of the Department of Art and Art History and the American Studies Program. Prof. de Baca earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2009 in the History of American Civilization. His scholarly work has been supported by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Dumbarton Oaks, and the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. His book, Memory Work: Anne Truitt and Sculpture, was published by the University of California Press in 2015, and considers issues of reference and abstraction in the career of the pioneering minimalist sculptor, Anne Truitt. De Baca is a reviewer for Yale University Press and Oxford University Press, and contributes to trade journals such as Artforum and Art in Print.
  • Lori Nerheim is co-founder of the Waukegan Arts Council, which serves as the umbrella arts and cultural organization for the Waukegan community. The council's mission is to be a catalyst to advance the economic, social and cultural life of Waukegan through the arts. Lori served on the executive leadership team for the past 7 years, most recently as the Chair. Raised in Waukegan, Lori has lived in the 10th Congressional District nearly her entire life. She is a graduate of Lake Forest College having studied Art History and Studio Art, and was awarded the Angela Knott Butler Prize for Studio Art. Last year, Lori was honored with the Jack Benny Arts & Humanities Award by the Waukegan Park District. She is currently leading the annual ArtWise community cultural arts series bringing together artists, cultural and civic organizations, and community members to engage with one theme