Support Art Education and Inspire Young Artists

On August 12, 2021, we announced the programming details for our 40th anniversary season with creative and professional development opportunities supporting YoungArts award winners at every stage of their careers and public programming in Miami, New York and online.

“As we enter our 40th year, we look forward to continuing to put artists at the center of all that we do and to share the extraordinary work of YoungArts award winners with the public,” said Executive Director, Jewel Malone. “Since our founding we have been dedicated to supporting artists across 10 disciplines, and this year we are deepening that commitment by expanding support for artists’ creative process and experimentation through in-person and virtual programs and in partnership with arts organizations nationwide.”

“We learned a great deal from virtual programming during the last year and are pleased to be able to offer a hybrid model of programs to YoungArts winners and the public” said Artistic Director, Lauren Snelling. “The flexibility of virtual and in-person programming allows us to reach a greater number of artists across the country, as we continue to expand our support for artists throughout their careers.”

Performances and Exhibitions

The season will kick off with performances in New York in partnership with The Public Theater at Joe’s Pub.  Performances will include multi-genre singer and songwriter Queen Esther (1983 YoungArts Winner in Theater) on October 17 and American jazz vocalist Jazzmeia Horn (2009 YoungArts Winner in Voice) with her big band on November 16-20 and experimental flutist Claire Chase (1996 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) on April 20, 2022, with more to come in 2022.

YoungArts’ fall exhibition, The Choreographers’ Scores: 2020 will open on December 1, 2021, in the YoungArts Gallery, curated by Kristy Edmunds, Executive and Artistic Director of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA). The Choreographers’ Scores: 2020 is a rare collection of dance on paper works created by 26 acclaimed U.S.-based choreographers. Each artist was commissioned by CAP UCLA to contribute a handmade score to be editioned as a fine art print by The Lapis Press. The resulting editions reveal the unique and intimate explorations of these artists, and insights into their personal perspectives and choreographic ideas, while awaiting their return to the studios and stages.

Also, in winter 2021, YoungArts is proud to partner with Nu Deco Ensemble for their performance on December 10 at the Adrienne Arsht Center featuring original compositions by Chris Rogerson (2007 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music).

2022 National YoungArts Week

In January, the public is invited to meet the next generation of artists during YoungArts’ signature program National YoungArts Week through performances, writers’ readings and an exhibition (Jan 9–15). All participating artists will be 2022 YoungArts award winners from across the country. During the week, winners work with peers from 10 artistic disciplines and with acclaimed professional artists in their fields. Spring programming for winners will highlight interdisciplinary collaboration and artistic process. The deadline to apply to become a 2022 award winner is October 15, 2021. 

Artist Residencies & Partners

Expanding YoungArts residency support, the new YoungArts Artist Fellowship for mid-career artists includes funding, space, networking opportunities and project consultation for the development of new work. Fellowships will be awarded annually to two artists selected by a panel of artists and staff. Fellows will receive a $10,000 honorarium; a three-week studio space residency on the YoungArts campus or at a location convenient to the fellow through a cultural partnership; and support from YoungArts staff, including consultation, networking and identification of additional support opportunities for continuing development of the work. The first YoungArts Fellow will be announced later this year. 

Additional creative opportunities and residencies are available through YoungArts’ national network of cultural partners, who provide a platform to serve YoungArts winners beyond their winner year, often in their home cities. Through individual partnerships, award winners are offered time, space and resources to experiment, develop and/or present their work at prestigious cultural institutions.

Additional residency and presenting partners for the season include Baxter St at CCNY (New York), Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA (Los Angeles), The Fountainhead Residency (Miami), Jacob’s Pillow (Becket, MA), Joe’s Pub (New York), and The Watermill Center (Watermill, NY).

Professional Development

To further support artists as they continue their professional development, YoungArts is expanding its Up Next programs and skill-building workshops to help artists across all disciplines advance their careers. For the first time, Up Next Focus will be offered for all 10 disciplines providing customized opportunities for YoungArts award winners to workshop ideas and speak with working artists and industry leaders across the visual, literary and performing arts. Up Next Skills virtual workshops will address topics such as fundraising, grant-writing, budget management and financial wellness, contract negotiation, branding and more.

Now in its fourth year, YoungArts has partnered with Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival (MFF) to identify and select six past winners as curatorial trainees for MFF’s upcoming 39th edition, March 4-13, 2022. This is a mentorship program in which YoungArts award winners will have the opportunity to work directly with MFF’s senior programmers and have an insider’s experience of the art of film curatorship. In addition, five YoungArts filmmakers under the age of 25 will be selected through an open call on YoungArts Post to participate in Sundance Ignite. 

Financial Awards and Support

Launched in April 2020, YoungArts Emergency Microgrants have been extended and are open to YoungArts award winners who are experiencing loss of income due to the cancellation of scheduled professional engagements related to COVID-19 and/or unexpected expenses and financial hardships. YoungArts has also increased project-based Creative Microgrants committing $15,000 per month to past award winners. 

Microgrant applications are available via open call on YoungArts dedicated portal for award winners, YoungArts Post.

As the impact of COVID-19 continues, National YoungArts Foundation remains committed to identify the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provide them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. This month join us in celebrating the 2021 Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Awardee and recapping the premiere of Without Further Delay.

2021 Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award

On March 9, 2021, National YoungArts Foundation was thrilled to announce Alora Young as the recipient of the 2021 YoungArts Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award, a $50,000 scholarship given each year to a YoungArts winner in Writing. Young may apply the financial award against the cost of tuition, room and board to attend an accredited school of her choice.

Young is a spoken word artist and Youth Poet Laureate of Nashville, Tennessee. A senior at Hillsboro High School, Young serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Burro Underground and is the recipient of The Princeton Prize in Race Relations. She is the founder of AboveGround, a nonprofit organization seeking to create equity in Nashville elementary schools through a combination of creative writing and Black history. Young is also a TedX Speaker, and her work has previously been published in The New York Times, Signal Mountain Review and Rigorous Magazine.

Now in its fourth year, the Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award demonstrates how individual donor support for YoungArts award winners can create transformative opportunities for artists throughout their careers. The award is part of YoungArts’ ongoing programmatic expansion, offering additional creative and professional development opportunities for artists throughout their careers. 

Without Further Delay

On April 8, 2021, National YoungArts Foundation in partnership with Aon premiered Without Further Delay, a virtual dance performance. Choreographed by co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Tony Award nominee Desmond Richardson (1986 YoungArts Winner in Dance & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) the performance featured a composition by Grammy Award winner Terence Blanchard (1980 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music) and brought together nine 2021 YoungArts award winners from across the country. Without Further Delay investigated the current moment by exploring elements of isolation, confinement, communality, perseverance, and diversity. Without Further Delay, is available here on the YoungArts YouTube channel.

This dance commission is a part of YoungArts’ commitment to supporting YoungArts award winners at every stage of their careers. Throughout the season, all YoungArts award winners have ongoing opportunities to learn from notable guest artists and to participate in creative and professional development opportunities, as well as conversations and discussions to build community and engage with their peers.

As our season continues, please visit our website www.youngarts.org to stay informed of any upcoming programming or announcements. You may also subscribe to any of our social media sites, which include YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.