Winner of Congressional Art Competition travels for dedication ceremony.

Visitors to the halls of Congress will be able to see the work of Whan Yeon, a recent Hart High graduate who won this year’s Congressional Art Competition.

Whan Yeon and Congressman Buck McKeon in McKeon’s Washington office

Yeon’s depiction of America’s melting pot is now hanging in the underground gallery of the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. where legislators and visitors travel between office suites and the floors of Congress.

The artist and his family –his sister, grandfather and mother – traveled to the Capitol in June for the gallery dedication, taking a few days for sightseeing. He remarked that his favorite landmark was the Korean War Memorial near the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

“It’s like a stone tablet with statues of soldiers in the war, very nicely designed,” he said.

Yeon also said that the family walked everywhere to try and catch all the sights, tiring themselves out.

Yeon’s grandfather, sister and mother join McKeon in his office.

Before the actual dedication ceremonies, Yeon’s family was received at Congressman Buck McKeon’s office for a briefing about what to expect, then went to a nearby auditorium where all the winners had gathered. Two professional artists, one a sculptor, the other a landscape artist, spoke to the students about their own life experiences.

The group then traveled to the steps of Congress for a group photo, then to the actual ribbon cutting ceremony that featured a slide show of all the entries. Yeon said that the artwork is displayed grouped in states and following the order of Congressional districts.

Right now, Yeon is focusing on studies before him as a first-year student at Otis College of Design in Los Angeles. As to the future, he hopes art plays an important part.

“That’s the plan for now,” he said.

See Yeon’s winning entry here .