Seven SCGSAH students recognized in national arts competition YoungArts
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Each year the National YoungArts Foundation holds one of the largest student art competitions highlighting promising young artists, ages 15-18, in classical music, dance, design, film, jazz, photography, theater, visual arts, voice and writing from around the country. This year, six students and one alumnus from the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities were selected as winners from an applicant pool of nearly 11,000 nationally, including one winner awarded with distinction.
These students include Stella Warren-Page, visual arts award winner; Dune Adams, fiction award winner; Jayden Benenhaley, nonfiction award winner; Tristyn Gibson, nonfiction award winner; Gus Messinides, nonfiction award winner, Anna Castro Spratt, fiction award winner with distinction; and 2024 alumnus Paige Dayton, film award winner.
“An artist’s lifelong journey with YoungArts begins by applying to our annual national competition,” said YoungArts President Clive Chang. “There is no other organization that provides its winners across 10 disciplines with ongoing professional and creative development opportunities and a community of support throughout their entire artistic career. The impact of this award on 15- to 18-year-old artists will be felt for decades to come.”
YoungArts winners awarded with distinction are invited to Miami to participate in National YoungArts Week, January 5-12, 2025, featuring classes, workshops and mentorship from internationally renowned artists. Winners with distinction are also eligible to be nominated to become a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of the highest honors given to high school seniors bestowed by the President of the United States.
This year, YoungArts award winners at all levels will receive cash prizes between $250 and $10,000 and the opportunity to learn from leading artists such as ballerina Misty Copeland, dance artists Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Reiner, actress Lorna Courtney, multidisciplinary artist Brian Ellison, and National Bestselling Author and Filmmaker Abigail Hing Wen. YoungArts winners also become part of an alumni network of over 22,000 artists, which offers them additional professional opportunities throughout their careers.
YoungArts alumni represent a dynamic group of artists including visual artists Jean Shin and Daniel Arsham, musicians Jon Batiste and Terence Blanchard, dancer and choreographer Camille A. Brown, actors Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer, and Andrew Rannells, poet Amanda Gorman, opera singer Denyce Graves, singer-songwriter Judith Hill, violinist Jennifer Koh, playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, dancer Desmond Richardson, composer Shaina Taub, and many more.