YoungArts, the national foundation for the advancement of artists, is accepting applications for its prestigious annual competition. Artists ages 15-18 or in grades 10–12 are encouraged to apply online through October 17th.
All YoungArts award winners will receive financial awards ranging from $250 to $10,000, opportunities to work with leading artists, and become eligible for exclusive creative and professional development support throughout their careers. Applications are adjudicated through a rigorous process by esteemed panels of artists. 2025 YoungArts award winners will be announced on November 25, 2024.
Award winners with distinction are invited to participate in National YoungArts Week, the organization’s signature program that provides approximately 150 young artists a weeklong, all-expenses-paid, intensive program in Miami where they have the opportunity to learn from esteemed artists in their field – such as Debbie Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Germane Barnes, Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie and Mickalene Thomas – collaborate across disciplines, and share their work with the public. Participants in National YoungArts Week who are high school seniors are further eligible for nomination to the White House Commission on U.S. Presidential Scholars.
“The YoungArts competition is the pivotal moment when a young person affirms, ‘I am an artist,’ and applying is the first step to becoming part of our vibrant community,” said YoungArts President and CEO Clive Chang. “We are proud to be the only organization that provides artists across 10 disciplines with lifelong professional and creative development opportunities and creates a vital network of support that reverberates throughout an artist’s career.”
Award winners join a distinguished group of leading artists including Daniel Arsham, Jon Batiste, Terence Blanchard, Camille A. Brown, Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Amanda Gorman, Denyce Graves, Judith Hill, Jennifer Koh, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Andrew Rannells, Desmond Richardson, Jean Shin, Hunter Schafer and Shaina Taub.
HOW TO APPLY for the 2025 YoungArts award competition:
The YoungArts award competition is open to artists (1) between the ages of 15–18 or in high school grades 10–12 (as of December 1, 2024) (2) that are United States citizens, permanent residents or legally able to receive taxable income in the U.S. and (3) that demonstrate excellence in Classical Music, Dance, Design, Film, Jazz, Photography, Theater, Visual Arts, Voice or Writing.
The online application deadline is October 17, 2024, at 8pm ET (5pm PT). For application inquiries, please call (305) 377-1140 or email.
Photo is 2024 YoungArts winner in Jazz, Oscar Evely, photo by Jason Koerner, courtesy of YoungArts.
