Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04) has announced the winners of the 2025 4th Congressional District Art Competition during a special awards ceremony held Monday, April 7, at Wallace State Community College.

The top honor, Best of Show, was awarded to Natalie Jones, an 11th grader at DAR School in Grant. Jones’ piece — a colorful 3D crocheted tree — will be displayed in the United States Capitol for the next year as part of the national Congressional Art Competition exhibit. As the Best of Show winner, Jones will also travel to Washington, D.C. this summer to participate in the national awards ceremony. In addition to this recognition, she has been awarded a full two-year scholarship to Wallace State Community College.

“I really like the art collages and most of them that I see on places like Pinterest and other websites all the pieces are flat,” Jones said. “I wanted to do something that came off of the canvas. Something that was really colorful and brought the colors of art and nature together.”

Local winners include St. Bernard Prep School’s Maria Agnello placing first in computer graphics; Cullman High School’s Elianna Hollis placing first in the drawing category, Frankie Kate Kruger placing third in the collages category and Harper Granger placing third in the Mixed Media category; and West Point High School’s Emma Beavers placing second in the prints category.

Aderholt praised all the participating students for their creativity and talent.

“Each year I continue to be amazed at the level of artistic ability we see from students across the 4th District,” Aderholt said. “The imagination and dedication these young artists pour into their work is truly inspiring. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Wallace State Community College and its president, Dr. Vicki Karolewics, for once again hosting this wonderful event and for their continued support of arts education in our schools.”

Additional winners by category are:

Paintings

Lilli Gilliland – JB Pennington High School
Yadira Juan – Russellville High School
Yumiya Xie – Florence High School

Drawings

Elianna Hollis – Cullman High School
Ashley Pankey – Boaz High School
Luke McCurdy – Guntersville High School

Collages

Flor Gonzalez – DAR High School
Alexx Stadelman – DAR High School
Frankie Kate Kruger – Cullman High School

Prints

Holt Hurt – Florence High School
Emma Beavers – West Point High School
Peyton Millsap – Haleyville High School

Mixed Media

Vanessa Corona Rios – Guntersville High School
Isabella Smith – Sumiton Christian School
Harper Granger – Cullman High School

Computer Graphics

Maria Agnello – St. Bernard Prep School
Laiken Rice – DAR High School
Matthew Jiminez – Crossville High School

Photography

Juan Dominguez – Haleyville High School
Stacy Johnson – Florence High School
Crystal Gonzalez – Guntersville High School