YoungArts Announces 40th Anniversary Season Programming

YoungArts announced today programming details for the organization's upcoming 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, 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 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. Among the 26 acclaimed choreographers featured in the exhibition are YoungArts award winners Caleb Teicher (2011 YoungArts Winner in Dance), Camille A. Brown (1997 YoungArts Winner in Dance & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts), and Shamel Pitts (2003 YoungArts Winner in Dance), and YoungArts guest artists and mentors such as Ann Carlson, Kyle Abraham, Nora Chipaumire, Rosie Herrera, and Ralph Lemon.

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. This season, dancer and choreographer Shamel Pitts will be in residence with Miami Light Project at The Light Box (Miami). Earlier this year, writer Molly Horan (2008 YoungArts Winner in Writing) was in residence with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (New York), and author Chris Castellani (1990 &1992 YoungArts Winner in Writing) was recently an artist-in-residence at The Betsy-South Beach (Miami).

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. Previous participants Carlos Tejera (2015 YoungArts Winner in Film) and Isabela Dos Santos (2011 YoungArts Winner in Film & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) have gone on to receive additional support as program consultants in a second phase of this curatorial mentorship. 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. As of September 7, 2020, artists who have worked for YoungArts in the past three years, such as guest artists and panelists, are also eligible to apply for Emergency Microgrants.

YoungArts has also increased project-based Creative Microgrants committing $15,000 per month to past award winners. Creative Microgrants may be requested for expenses related to professional development or creative works-in-progress prior to the work taking place. This increase includes one $5,000 project grant each month.

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

Applications will be selected by a rotating panel of YoungArts staff and alumni.

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