2022 YoungArts Award Winners Announced For Excellence In Visual, Literary And Performing Arts

YoungArts announces the 2022 YoungArts award winners-720 of the most accomplished young visual, literary and performing artists from across the country.

Selected through the organization's prestigious competition, YoungArts award winners, all 15-18 years old or in grades 10-12, are chosen for their caliber of artistic achievement by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process.

YoungArts award winners gain access to one of the most comprehensive programs for artists in the United States, in which they will have opportunities for financial, creative and professional development support throughout their entire careers. A complete list of the 2022 winners is available online at youngarts.org/winners.

"We are thrilled to announce this year's YoungArts award winners-an extraordinary group of promising, accomplished young artists-and congratulate each of them on this exciting milestone in their artistic careers," said Executive Director Jewel Malone. "YoungArts empowers artists to pursue a life in the arts beginning at the critical time when many are faced with decisions about life after high school. We are proud to support these young artists at the beginning of their journeys and look forward to becoming a resource for them at all stages of their careers."

YoungArts awards are given in three categories: Finalist, Honorable Mention and Merit. This year, YoungArts award winners will have the opportunity to learn from leading artists such as vocalist La Tanya Hall, visual artists Loni Johnson and Yashua Klos and award-winning writer Dr. Joan Morgan. YoungArts award winners become eligible for exclusive creative and professional development support including a wide range of fellowships, residencies and awards; microgrants and financial awards; virtual and in-person presentation opportunities in collaboration with major venues and cultural partners nationwide; and access to YoungArts Post, a free, private online platform for YoungArts artists to connect, collaborate and discover new opportunities.

YoungArts award winners at the Finalist level are invited to participate in National YoungArts Week + in January 2022 featuring virtual classes, workshops and mentorship from leading artists in their fields as well as virtual performances and an exhibition for the public. Finalists are also eligible to be nominated to become U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, one of the highest honors given to high school seniors, bestowed by the President of the United States. As the sole nominating agency, every year YoungArts nominates 60 artists to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. The Commission then selects the 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts.

YoungArts award winners join a distinguished group of accomplished artists including Daniel Arsham, Terence Blanchard, Camille A. Brown, Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Amanda Gorman, Judith Hill, Jennifer Koh, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Andrew Rannells, Desmond Richardson and Hunter Schafer.

The YoungArts competition is open to artists 15-18 years old (or in grades 10 - 12). Every year YoungArts connects with schools; conservatories; youth programs; visual, performing, and literary art organizations; and cultural and community organizations to reach young artists across the country. Through these strategic partnerships and outreach, YoungArts raises awareness among talented young artists and educators in both traditional and non-traditional settings across the country about the YoungArts national competition.

The 2022 application cycle opened new avenues for intergenerational dialogues between artists: Virtual info sessions provided space for prospective applicants to interact and ask questions of past winners and application panelists, from how to make the most effective audition video to what it's like to pursue a life in the arts. Similarly, the "Ask an Artist" website feature allowed applicants to email questions best answered by fellow artists as they progressed through the application process, and considered their career trajectories. Participating artists included Rosie Herrera, Javon Jackson (1983 YoungArts Winner in Jazz), Caleb Teicher (2011 YoungArts Winner in Dance) and Grace Weber (2006 YoungArts Winner in Voice & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts).For more information about becoming a YoungArts award winner click here.

"Over the past 20 years, more than 200 of our students have been named YoungArts award winners," said Jonathan Klein, Magnet Coordinator at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX. "The prestige this recognition brings to our school and teachers is exceeded only by the lifelong opportunities it provides for those students. The competition inspires our student body to bring their artistic and creative best for a chance to be acknowledged at the national level."

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