U.S. Rep. Richard Neal recently selected artwork created by 2025 Belchertown High School graduate Kaia Couture, left, to represent his First Congressional District in the 44th annual Congressional Art Competition. Couture was encouraged to enter her “A Tangible Dream” painting in the contest by BHS art teacher Elizabeth Teixeira, right.
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BELCHERTOWN — Kaia Couture had not even considered entering the 44th annual Congressional Art Competition until Belchertown art teacher Elizabeth Teixeira suggested her realistic painting of marbles had enough intricate detail in its reflections, light and shadow to contend with the thousands of submissions from the First Congressional District.
So when Teixeira told Couture that U.S. Rep. Richard Neal picked her piece titled “A Tangible Dream” to represent his district in Washington, D.C., she was pleasantly surprised.
“She [Teixeira] thought that my piece was good enough to win compared to her past students,” Couture said. “She was very nice to take care of the framing and the logistics of sending it in, so it was really not that big of a process for me, which kind of made it very surreal when I did win.”
The Congressional Art Competition is a national contest where each member of Congress chooses a high school student’s art piece to represent their district. Over the past 44 years, over 10,000 art pieces from American youth have cycled through the Cannon Tunnel, a walkway connecting the Capital Building with the House of Representatives.
“Every year, I am amazed at the talent exhibited by students across western and central Massachusetts. This year’s winner is no exception, and I am thrilled to join with Kaia and her family and friends as we celebrate such a momentous occasion,” Neal said when he announced Couture as the winner on May 9 at Belchertown High School.
Just four days after her high school graduation, Couture flew to the capital this week to view her piece alongside the other winners.
“It’ll be fun to see, you know, what they did, what mediums they used, and everything,” Couture said.
Couture began her artistic pursuits as a child. While her brothers were wrestling in the grass, she was coloring away with the large art sets her family bought for birthdays and holidays. However, she really sharpened her skills once Teixeira accepted her into an honors art class her sophomore year. For the past two years, Couture has been experimenting with new mediums and subjects, and, as Teixeria said, finding her stride.
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“She’s always been a talented student, and she can think creatively about the assignments given. She’ll put a little twist on something that will make it more interesting than her peers,” she said. “But I feel like the last year that I’ve had her, she’s really stepped up to the challenge and picked subjects or mediums or something to challenge herself more so than she did previously.”
The Congressional Art Competition is Couture’s second honor in the arts. She has been featured in Easthampton’s Sgt. James G. Wheeler Memorial Art Gallery in 2024 as part of nonprofit Warrior’s Art Room, an organization that uplifts the artistic talents of veterans and their families.
Couture will attend Salem State University in the fall for nursing, but she is considering minoring in art. She does not want her passion to ever feel like a job, she said, but art will remain an important part of life.
“I know that I want to keep doing art, even if it isn’t the main thing I do,” Couture said. “I want to make sure that when I create art, it’s mainly for myself.”
Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com
