Michael Leavitt of Bloomingdale High School in Valrico Named 1st Place Winner
BRADENTON, Fla. — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan announced the winners of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition, a district-wide showcase for high school-aged artists. This year, forty-eight exceptional entries were submitted from across the district.
The first-place winner is Michael Leavitt, a senior at Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, FL. His artwork, “system error: expression blocked,” is currently on display for one year in the highly traveled corridor between the U.S. Capitol and the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
(Pictured above: Congressman Vern Buchanan standing with first place winner Michael Leavitt in front of his painting, “system error: expression blocked,” on display in Washington, D.C.)
Tied for second place is Jaden Denney from Manatee School of the Arts in Bradenton, with her piece “Ghost Town,” and Hana Mullen from Pine View School with her piece “Winners’ Ticket” and third place goes to Celine Wang’s “Tragedy at the Museum” from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, Florida.
“I’m grateful for the amazing submissions from our students for this year’s competition,” said Buchanan. “The high schoolers in our district are exceptional artists and I’m excited to feature their art in our offices here in Florida’s 16th District and in our nation’s capital.”
An additional component of the annual art competition includes the “Facebook Fan Favorite” Awards. The winning pieces in this category are displayed in the Congressman’s offices in D.C., Bradenton, and Brandon. The winners are Madison Tavarez with “Thermal,” Emily Komar with “Thought and Memory,” both from Bloomingdale High School and Andrea Ledger from Parrish Community High School with “Patriot’s Game.”
The judging panel included professors from the State College of Florida Art, Design & Humanities department and staff from the Communications and Government department. More information on the Congressional Art Competition can be found here.
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