With the decline in funding for arts education, one of the most pressing needs in our nation is for the development of young artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. Since 1981, YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) has helped to fill that need by identifying emerging high school artists and assisting them in their educational and professional development. Over the years, YoungArts has honored more than 16,000 young artists with more than $6 million in monetary awards and nearly $84 million in college scholarship opportunities.
YoungArts is the nominating agency for the Presidential Scholars in the Arts program, which honors twenty high school seniors for academic, civic and artistic excellence and provides them with an exhibition of their works at the Smithsonian or performance on the stage of the Kennedy Center. In addition, YoungArts selects 150 young artists to participate in a week of master classes, exhibitions and performances in Miami. Notable alumni of the YoungArts programs include actors Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Vanessa Williams and Raul Esparza, dancers Desmond Richardson and Rachel Moore, vocal artists Chris Young and Denyce Graves, writers Elizabeth Kostova and Jenji Kohan, musicians Jennifer Koh and Roy Hargrove and visual artists John Currin and Doug Aitken.
YoungArts recently inaugurated its YoungArts Los Angeles program with an evening at Warner Brothers Studios that featured dazzling performances by YoungArts alumni who are now studying at art schools and colleges around the country. The level of professionalism from these young artists was both stunning and inspirational, and provided great hope for those of us devoted to the future of the arts in America. YoungArts Los Angeles will provide workshops and master classes with recognized artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, as well as performance and exhibition opportunities, mentoring opportunities and career and educational guidance.
It is a shame that the federal, state and local governments don't recognize the importance of developing young artists -- not only to ensure the long-term vitality of our society, but also to promote the economic growth that the arts represent. It is estimated, for example, that nearly 30 percent of the new jobs created in Southern California are in arts-related fields, including not only film and television, but also fashion, graphic design, video gaming, advertising and marketing. These are the future jobs of the "creative economy" and they require the talents and energy of a new generation of artists. YoungArts Los Angeles is exactly the kind of program that is needed to secure that future.