The Young Artist Award, established in 2009, recognizes and honors the talent and accomplishments of students while shining a spotlight on supportive parents, dedicated teachers and thriving programs in both in-school and out-of-school settings. The challenges of narrowed curricula, conflicting education policies and budget shortfalls make it difficult for all young people to have equal access to arts learning, yet the young artists and programs recognized through this program exemplify how quality arts learning can benefit schools, communities, educators, and most importantly, individual students.
Objectives
Develop leadership skills and build self-confidence among young people. The Young Artist awardee serves as an ambassador representing his or her school and community before a national audience of arts and education professionals. AEP coaches the student in developing and delivering public remarks focused on his or her perspective on the arts’ role in education.
Celebrate and foster educational and artistic excellence in America’s public schools and communities. AEP presents the awardees’s art program with an official certificate of recognition for excellence in arts education as demonstrated by the Young Artist.
Recognize the “network of support”–parents, educators and schools–that contribute to student success. Parents and educators receive special acknowledgment at National Forums, and the featured arts programs are awarded with donations towards their programs.
About the Competition
Students ages 12-18 in the region of the AEP National Forum are invited to submit original artwork reflecting the theme of the Forum, an artist statement, and a personal statement on arts education. A national committee of arts and education leaders reviews the submissions and selects the student whose artwork will grace the front cover of the Forum program and influence the design theme for the inside of the program. The winning student is interviewed for a feature on the back cover of the program, and is recognized during a special ceremony at the Forum along with his or her “network of support”–parents and teachers.
About the Ceremony
The Young Artist, his or her parents, and art teacher are invited to attend a special award ceremony at the National Forum where the student is presented with a professionally framed copy of his or her artwork and a monetary prize. The awardee is invited on stage for brief remarks and an interview with an official from the U.S. Department of Education. The awardee’s “network of support” is acknowledged from the main podium, and the teacher is presented with a donation in support of the student’s art program.
The 2013 National Forum Young Artist Award application period is now closed. Please stay tuned for announcements and information about this year’s Young Artist!
Questions? Contact Cristine Davis, Program Associate, at cristined@ccsso.org or 202.326.8683.