This year’s winner is Wayland’s Alyssa Ao and her painting “Schrödinger’s Cat.”

MALDEN, MA - Today, Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Clark (MA-5) announced Alyssa Ao as the winner of her district’s annual Congressional Art Competition.

“The talent and creativity of our district’s high school students is astounding,” said Assistant Speaker Clark. “This year’s winning piece is an introspective look at both the discomfort we all felt at the start of the pandemic and the unease we still feel today as the world returns to a new normal. I’m so proud of Alyssa and can’t wait to see her work on display in Washington.”

Alyssa Ao, a freshman at Wayland High School, was chosen as the 2022 winner for Massachusetts’ Fifth District. Ao’s piece, entitled, “Schrödinger’s Cat,” depicts a tabby cat looming over a mouse-like face mask and can be found HERE. 

“My artwork represents the uncertainty I felt in 2020, when things I didn’t understand turned my world upside down,” said Ao. “That’s why I call it ‘Schrödinger’s Cat.’ It’s about the vague uncertainty of each day living in a pandemic.”

Ao will be honored at an annual awards ceremony in Washington D.C. and her art will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol alongside winners from other Congressional districts. The runners up will be displayed in Assistant Speaker Clark’s district offices for the next year. Please visit Student Competitions - Congresswoman Katherine Clark or Assistant Speaker Clark’s Facebook page to view Ao’s artwork, as well artwork from this year’s runners up.

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each Congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

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