Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS) sponsored by the national Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA)

High school seniors who are talented artists can apply to win cash awards, scholarships and national honors through the "Arts Recognition and Talent Search®" (ARTS) sponsored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA).

What it is:  ARTS is the nation's only scholarship program for high school seniors in all art forms.  It is not a competition.  Students are not judged against each other; instead, they are judged against a standard of excellence for their age group within their artistic discipline.  Each year, over 6,500 students apply to this prestigious program.  Up to 150 students chosen to participate in ARTS Week travel to Miami for an all-expenses-paid week of master classes, showcase performances, exhibitions, interdisciplinary activities, enrichment programs and interviews, as well as final, live auditions. 

NFAA is also the exclusive nominating agency for the Presidential Scholars Program, which each year honors up to 20 young artists from across the country, on behalf of the President of the United States.  These Presidential Scholars travel to Washington, DC, for an all-expenses-paid series of performances, celebrations, and educational events sponsored by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education.  Performing artists perform before a full house of 2,400 in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center, and visual and literary artists are featured in a month-long show at capital-area museum.  All Presidential Scholars receive the Presidential Scholars Medallion in a White House-sponsored ceremony.

NFAA also offers its ARTS alumni an Alumni Career grant and additional opportunities with internships at Sundance Theatre Laboratory and the Utah Shakespearean Festival, and supports professional and emerging artists through career development programs, including its Fellowships in the Visual Arts program and the NFAA Astral Career Grants.

What young artists can win:

·       $10,000 Gold Awards ($10,000 awards to the top artist in each of the nine artistic categories listed below)

·       $400,000 in cash awards ($1,000 each for Level III awards; $1,500 each for Level II awards, $3,000 each for Level I awards)

·       $3 million in scholarship opportunities and reserved slots in some of the nation's top arts colleges, through the Scholarship List Service.  (NFAA's Scholarship List Service (SLS) offers colleges, universities, and professional schools the names of high school seniors who register for NFAA's ARTS program, as well as the names of those participants ultimately selected as ARTS winners by NFAA and as Presidential Scholars in the Arts by the Commission on Presidential Scholars.  SLS serves as a vehicle for institutions to earmark scholarships, apprenticeships, or internships to ARTS participants and winners.  SLS institutions designate highly competitive freshman class slots and set aside up to $3 million for ARTS participants.)

What art forms are eligible:

·       Dance (the "World Dance Forms" category includes Native American Dance);

·       Film/Video;

·       Jazz;

·       Music;

·       Photography;

·       Theater;

·       Visual Arts (including ceramics, costume design, drawing, graphic design, jewelry making, painting, printmaking, sculpture, textile and fiber design, theater set design, non-traditional, and mixed media, etc.);

·       Voice; and

·       Writing.

When to apply, and other important dates:

·       Registration deadline for ARTS:  October 1, 2005

·       Audition/Portfolio Materials postmark deadline:  November 1, 2005

·       Announcement of National Finalists:  December 1, 2005

·       ARTS Week National Finals in Miami, FL: January 9 - 15, 2006

·       National Recognition Week in Washington, DC, for Presidential Scholars in the Arts:  June 24-29, 2006

To learn more, visit:  http://www.nfaa.org

To apply, visit:  http://www.nfaa.org/application/apply.htm