YoungArts Backyard Ball
Benefits National YoungArts Foundation
Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 7 p.m.
YoungArts Campus
2100 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami
305-377-1140, Ext. 1808
www.YoungArts.org/Gala
The Backyard Ball performance and gala is National YoungArts Foundation’s largest annual fundraiser, and the culmination of YoungArts Week in January, a program celebrating the nation’s most promising artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts.
Each year, more than 800 notable attendees gather in Miami to honor the achievements of these gifted artists, ages 15 – 18. The evening is one of artistic immersion with powerful performances by YoungArts alumni. In addition, YoungArts recognizes three honorees with Arison Awards for their invaluable commitment to the arts and a standout YoungArts winner with the Max Mara Young Visionary Award.
For additional information and tickets for the YoungArts Backyard Ball, email Gala@YoungArts.org or call 305-377-1140, Ext. 1808.
About the National YoungArts Foundation
The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) 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. Through a wide range of annual programs, regular performances, and partnerships with some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions, YoungArts aspires to create a strong community of alumni and a platform for a lifetime of encouragement, opportunity and support.
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 an average of 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 of up to $10,000, professional development and educational experiences working with renowned mentors— such as Debbie Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rebecca Walker, Plácido Domingo, Frank Gehry, Neil Patrick Harris, Jeff Koons, Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie and Carrie Mae Weems—and performance and exhibition opportunities at some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), The Museum of Modern Art (New York) and New World Center (Miami). Additionally, YoungArts Winners are eligible for nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic and artistic excellence.
YoungArts Winners also become part of a thousands-strong alumni network of artists, which offers them additional professional opportunities throughout their careers. YoungArts alumni who have gone on to become leaders in their fields include actresses Viola Davis, Anna Gunn, Zuzanna Szadkowski and Kerry Washington; Broadway stars Raúl Esparza, Billy Porter, Andrew Rannells and Tony Yazbeck; recording artists Josh Groban, Judith Hill and Chris Young; Metropolitan Opera star Eric Owens; musicians Terence Blanchard, Gerald Clayton, Jennifer Koh and Elizabeth Roe; choreographers Camille A. Brown and Desmond Richardson; visual artists Daniel Arsham and Hernan Bas; internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Doug Aitken; New York Times bestselling author Sam Lipsyte; and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Doug Blush.
For more information, visit www.YoungArts.org, facebook.com/YoungArtsFoundation or twitter.com/YoungArts.
