Lake County Gazette

Kalyani Manjunadh, a student at BHS, has been honored with the 2025 Congressional Art Award for Illinois' 5th District. Her artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building. The Board of Education recognized her achievement during a recent meeting.

The award is part of a nationwide high school visual art competition sponsored by the Congressional Institute each spring. The competition aims to recognize and encourage artistic talent across the country and within each congressional district. Students submit their artwork to their representative's office, where panels of district artists select the winning pieces. Winners are celebrated both locally and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC, with their works exhibited for one year at the U.S. Capitol.

Kalyani's winning piece is titled "Child’s Play." She explained her inspiration: "I was inspired by a picture of my sister and I playing in the snow when we were younger, which I reimagined by using vibrant colors to capture the nostalgia and joy of youth, and to explore the unique ways in which play has affected my life."

Since its inception in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated in the Artistic Discovery competition. Additional details about the process and entry deadlines can be found on the U.S. House of Representatives website.

Information from this article can be found here.