YoungArts Week

The YoungArts season officially has launched!

Please meet our 597 National 2012 YoungArts Winners, and join us to celebrate the next generation of America’s artists in Miami, Florida at the New World Center, Colony Theatre, Miami Art Museum and the Van Dyke Café. We are thrilled that the Friday YoungArts Chamber Music Concert at the New World Center will feature a WALLCAST^TM at the Miami Beach SoundScape. See the full 2012 YoungArts Week schedule, and ticket information here.

We also are excited to announce that select seating to our Saturday, January 14, YoungArts Finale Alumni Performance and Awards Ceremony, honoring Robert Redford, Doug Aitken and Robert L. Lynch is open to the public! For more information, and to purchase tickets, please click here.

If you would like to join us for our annual An Affair of the Arts Performance and Gala, which includes VIP seating at the Alumni Performance and Awards Ceremony, followed by cocktails, silent auction, dinner and dancing, click here.

We look forward to celebrating and sharing the next generation of artists with you in the New Year!

Until then we wish you the happiest of holidays - and give you this holiday song and video by YoungArts Alumni, that we hope you enjoy.  Thanks for your part in supporting YoungArts and all we do.

YoungArts Adjudication

November was an exciting time for YoungArts as we hosted our esteemed Panelists and Discipline Coordinators for the review and adjudication of the 5,000-plus submissions from across the United States. We like to think of it as the “beginning of the YoungArts season.” And we get to celebrate the season with our entire YoungArts family – and welcome in our newest members this month. We are proud of the family we have built here. Have you met all of them? If not, let us introduce you…

National Panelists

Discipline Coordinators

Resident Advisors

Enjoy a video about some of the process, here.

YoungArts Los Angeles

November also marked the successful launch towards development of YoungArts Los Angeles – a Regional Program that will provide recognition, artistic experiences and life-changing networking opportunities for Southern California’s own promising young artists, as well as facilitate scholarships and other opportunities at the nation’s leading colleges, universities and conservatories.

Spanning three days in LA, YoungArts presented original performances and exhibitions by national alumni to more than 1,400 high school students, arts patrons, teachers, parents, cultural and entertainment industry leaders and others. As we continue to make plans to develop our programming in Los Angeles, we invite you to get involved.

Please contact us at youngartsla@youngarts.org  to learn more about YoungArts Los Angeles and our Los Angeles Council and to join our efforts. We need your support and involvement to help recognize more excellent artists in Los Angeles and provide opportunities and experiences that will forever change their lives.

Did you miss the performance and events? See photos here, and a video of the YoungArts Jazz Trio here.

Special thanks to The Colburn School, Warner Bros. Studios and the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, our venue hosts.

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus

In cooperation with The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a state of the art mobile recording studio and video production facility, The Betsy Hotel hosted a dedication ceremony for a tree that it has donated to the City of Miami Beach in honor of Yoko Ono’s interactive artwork, Wish Tree, located in Lummus Park, directly across the street from the hotel at 1440 Ocean Drive. The community was invited to attend the dedication and plaque installation. Our very own Kate Davis, 2009 YoungArts Winner in Jazz and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, was onsite to sing Imagine as the ceremony took place.

The Wish Tree has been integral to many of Ono’s exhibitions around the world in museums and cultural centers where people have been invited to write their personal wishes for peace and tie them to a tree branch.

Learn more about The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus here. 

Watch an interview with Kate Davis, here. 

Alumni Spotlight

Adam Brobjorg, 2010 YoungArts Winner in Photography and Winner of the YoungArts 2012

T-Shirt Contest

Since attending YoungArts Week, Adam Brobjorg has caught the eye of political figures such as Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, who booked him recently for a photoshoot. His success started early–while studying photography at St. Mark’s School of Texas. During his tenure, the St. Mark's photography program was named the top photography program in the State of Texas. And, in the summer of 2008, Adam was selected by Earthwatch Institute to live and conduct scientific research in the Arctic Circle. This fellowship resulted in two weeks spent conducting studies on climate change in the Arctic Circle with research scientists and climatologists.

In 2008-2009, Adam competed against thousands of students and was named a NASA High School Aerospace Scholar, giving him the opportunity to work with NASA astronauts at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Also in 2009 Adam was given the Texas Imagemaker Award, signifying that Adam is ranked as one of the top 10 student photographers in the state of Texas.

And, during YoungArts Week 2010, he was selected as one of only five finalists in photography in the United States. This year, he’s working with YoungArts again as the winner of the YoungArts Week 2012 T-Shirt contest. His design will be worn by the 2012 Finalists throughout YoungArts Week 2012.

Read more.

Where are They Now

Happy Anniversary, YoungArts

Since 1981, YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), has honored over 16,000 artists with more than $6 million in monetary awards and more than $100 million in college scholarship opportunities.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of our founding by the late Ted Arison, and his wife Lin, we will pay tribute here monthly to alumni from every class who have embraced the Arison's mission to identify emerging artists and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development:

2011 YoungArts Week Performance DVDs. Relive every moment! Order now

Help us continue to invest in a future rich in culture by investing in the future generation of talented young artists. Learn how.

Have a question about our program or events? Call (305) 377-1140 or email us at communication@youngarts.org

Save

the Date

// FEBRUARY 22-26, 2012

YoungArts Miami Regional Program

New World Center

Miami, FL

// MARCH 8-11, 2012

YoungArts New York Regional Program

Baryshnikov Arts Center 

New York, NY

// MARCH 13, 2012

YoungArts 2013 Registration Opens

// JUNE 17, 2012

U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts 2012  / Exhibition and Writer's Readings

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

// JUNE 18, 2012

U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts 2012 / Performance

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Concert Hall, Washington, D.C.

The Arts Matter

As we announce our 2012 YoungArts winners and look ahead to YoungArts Week, we are abuzz with excitement. Our national panel of adjudicators shared just how impressed they were with the breadth and depth of talent represented in our highly selected class of 597 artists from 39 states. Our adjudicators have “met” these students through their applications and audition DVDs and portfolios of their work, and now we eagerly await spending time with our Finalists as they participate in YoungArts Week (January 9-14, 2012), and the eligible regional winners who will participate in our YoungArts Miami and YoungArts New York Regional Programs in February and March.

With TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, and The Sing-Off being watched by millions of Americans, our culture is awash with aspiring stars. YoungArts is so fortunate to be able to select the best of the best of the nation’s young artists who are coming into a critical juncture in their lives in high school, and provide them with life-changing experiences and opportunities to cultivate their artistry, access to significant scholarships at the nation’s leading colleges, universities and conservatories (see where the YoungArts Class of 2011 ended up, here!) as well as networking opportunities to help them achieve their professional dreams. A recent survey of the YoungArts class of 2011 shows that 105 of the 500 winners amassed almost $6.5M in scholarships – and we’ve facilitated more than $100 million at the nation’s leading colleges for over 30 years!

YoungArts affords accomplished young artists the chance to study with masters in their artistic discipline – whether their talents lie in cinematic arts, dance, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice or writing – and to forge life-long professional relationships with other young artists who share and support their aspirations. Please plan to join us – in person and online through our livestream – January 9-14.

Because for all of us at YoungArts, the arts matter!

Marya Meyer

Vice President of Programs

Sponsor Spotlight

As we reflect on 2011 and look forward to 2012, YoungArts extends a heartfelt thank you to our donors and sponsors across the country for their commitment and support throughout the year. Your generous contributions allow us to make our mission a reality and are vital to our success.

We look to 2012 to build on our achievements of previous years by investing in the artistic development of thousands of gifted artists in nine disciplines in the visual, literary and performing arts. We invite you to consider joining our Councils (in Miami and New York City currently) or to pledge your support to our programs today.

Extra!

YoungArts accepts interns (in Miami) year-round! Looking for an internship – or know who someone who does? The YoungArts internship program offers unique opportunities for interns to participate in the day-to-day activities of the organization. Benefits include hands-on work experience in the arts administration office. Depending on their field of interest, interns will be placed with the Development, Programs or External Relations departments, where they will assist in department-specific projects including fundraising campaigns, event planning, alumni cultivation, media relations and more. As a bonus, interns receive complimentary tickets to the YoungArts Week performances in January. To apply for a YoungArts internship, email your resume and cover letter to intern@youngarts.org.

For more information, click here.