Welcome to the new YoungArts website! We are so excited about our new look and hope you will find this site more interactive and easier to navigate. This website is a key part of our vision for the future of YoungArts, and we will be using it as a tool to digitally enrich and support the arts while giving you an all access pass to the exceptional artists with whom we work. Video, photos, music and a brand new blog are just some of the elements I am happy to be sharing with you. You can check out submissions of some of our top finalists, listen to their music, watch their performances, read their writing and view their artwork. We will be bringing you video interviews with some of our renowned Master Teachers, and some of our alumni (they also will be blogging so be sure to check back here every few weeks!), as well as video of our captivating master classes and other enriching content that we think you will find interesting!

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C. to celebrate the 2010 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. Twenty outstanding YoungArts finalists were named Presidential Scholars in the Arts and awarded a Presidential Medallion by President Obama at the White House. The YoungArts writers and cinematic and visual artists exhibited their work at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and our performing artists performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Watching our 18- and 19-year old Scholars present their work at two of the top cultural institutions in the nation made me so proud to be the CEO of an organization that provides our young artists with these types of life-changing experiences.

Be sure to keep an eye on our site as it continues to roll out new interactive features and broaden the reach of the YoungArts mission through the internet. I hope you enjoy it – bookmark it!

Below are some photos from The White House ceremony honoring the U.S. Presidential Scholars - enjoy!