National YoungArts Foundation Announces 2017 Season and Third Annual YoungArts Awareness Day

MIAMI, Sept. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National YoungArts Foundation announces a dynamic roster of performances, exhibitions and cross-disciplinary collaborations for its 2016-2017 season. This year's programming prominently features YoungArts alumni and master teachers, highlighting the caliber of the organization's more than 20,000 emerging and established artists nationwide. In addition to YoungArts' signature programming—including National YoungArts Week on the YoungArts Campus and Regional Programs in Miami, Los Angeles and New York—the season will feature Transformations, the organization's first-ever commissioning program of short films; In Process, a new interdisciplinary residency program for alumni artists; and exhibitions and Salons talks with a range of creative leaders in Miami, Los Angeles and New York.

The season will kick off on September 27 with the third annual YoungArts Awareness Day, which promotes the arts as a viable career path, celebrates the achievements of YoungArts alumni, and encourages emerging artists to apply to YoungArts' 2017 program. This year's Awareness Day celebration includes MouthWater, an exhibition on view in the YoungArts Gallery through November 21 curated by Master Teacher Robert Chambers, presenting work by established visual arts alumni—including Hernan Bas, Naomi Fisher and Nicole Eisenman—alongside that of recent winners. In Washington, D.C., an interdisciplinary performance directed by alumnus Caleb Teicher at Millennium Stage will feature YoungArts alumni, in "A Very Brief History of the United States"—a whirlwind experience of our nation's watershed moments from the Revolutionary War, to the birth of jazz, to the Civil Rights Movement and modern politics.

The season continues with Transformations, a film-commissioning initiative celebrating YoungArts' commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration in honor of its 35^th anniversary. Selected alumni are working together, from conception to production, to create unique works for film that capture the transformative power of creativity. Participants include Adam O'Farrill, Devyn Tyler, Kate Vrijmoet, Tatev Yeghiazaryan and Da'Shawn Mosley. The final films will premiere to the public on November 5 during YoungArts' Outside the Box program. Additional Outside the Box events includes a classical performance directed by YoungArts master teacher Daniel Bernard Roumain and a multi-disciplinary dance performance directed by alumna Yara Travieso.

The organization's core program, National YoungArts Week, will follow in January, when approximately 170 YoungArts Finalists come together in Miami to work with distinguished artists in intensive master classes, workshops and seminars. The week will culminate with the annual Backyard Ball performance and gala on January 14.

Highlights include In Process, a new program offering alumni across disciplines the opportunity to collaborate in a residency setting. In addition to access to space and time to create work, artists will be offered a stipend. Participants include Delali Ayivor, Nicole Mouriño, Brittany Bailey, Conrad Tao and Lee Heinemann, among others. The year also will feature YoungArts' Salon Series of panel discussions, with renowned and emerging artists in conversation around themes such as Artists as Citizens; Rebellion & Innovation; Women & Words; and Art & The Next Wave. Salons will take place in Miami, Los Angeles and New York, and participants include Chat Travieso, Michael Clark, Rachel Moore, Mel Chin, and Doug Aitken, among others.

YoungArts' Regional Programs in Miami, Los Angeles and New York will take place in February, March and April, respectively. In the spring, an alumni photography exhibition curated by Michele Dunn Marsh will be presented at the YoungArts Gallery. The season will conclude in June with an exhibition at the Flomenhaft Gallery and Salon at New York Live Arts in New York City, and the U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts award ceremony, performance and exhibition in Washington, D.C.

About the National YoungArts Foundation
The National YoungArts Foundation was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to identify and nurture the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts, and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development.  YoungArts' signature program is an application-based award for emerging artists ages 15 – 18 or in grades 10 – 12 from across the United States. Selected from a pool of more than 11,000 applications (in 2015, the organization received a record-breaking number of more than 12,000 applications), YoungArts Winners receive valuable support, including financial awards, professional and educational experiences working with renowned mentors, and performance and exhibition opportunities at leading cultural institutions.

For more information, visit youngarts.org, facebook.com/YoungArtsFoundation or twitter.com/YoungArts. To watch a brief video about YoungArts, click here.

For additional photography, visit http://www.youngarts.org/press-photos

Media Contacts:
Julia An / [email protected] / 212-715-1694

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SOURCE National YoungArts Foundation