YoungArts Backyard Ball
Benefits National YoungArts Foundation
Saturday, January 13, 2018, 7 p.m.
YoungArts Campus
2100 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami
305-377-1140, Ext. 1808
www.YoungArts.org/Galas
The YoungArts Backyard Ball performance and gala is the organization’s largest annual fundraiser, and the culmination of National YoungArts Week in January—the signature national program celebrating the nation’s most promising artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts. Every year, more than 800 prominent artists, alumni, community leaders, philanthropists and celebrities gather at the Backyard Ball to honor the achievements of these talented young artists. Presented by Max Mara, the evening is one of artistic immersion with powerful performances by YoungArts alumni. In addition, honorees are recognized with the Arison Award and the Arison Alumni Award for their invaluable commitment to the arts. Previous awardees include Kerry Washington, Robert Redford, Adrian Grenier, Zaha Hadid, Rita Moreno, Andrew Rannells, Rosie Perez, Robert Wilson, Tony Yazbeck and others.
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, 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 through a blind adjudication process, 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, Plácido Domingo, Frank Gehry, Jeff Koons, Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie, Rebecca Walker 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 become part of a thousands-strong alumni network of artists, and are offered additional professional opportunities throughout their careers. YoungArts alumni who have gone on to become leading professionals 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 winners Doug Blush and Tarell Alvin McCraney.
For more information, visit www.YoungArts.org, Facebook or Twitter.
