Students Encouraged to Participate in Arts Competitions
These two competitions offer our young people a unique opportunity to gain national recognition, and scholarship funding for their talented artwork. I strongly encourage high school students to submit entries into both of these rewarding competitions and to take advantage of the opportunities they offer.
Every spring Congress launches the effort to discover and celebrate talented young high school artists and their work through the Congressional Arts Competition. This annual competition provides Members of Congress with the opportunity to showcase the artistic talent of high school students within their districts, thereby acknowledging our nation's gifted young artists.
The artist whose work is chosen has the distinction of having his or her artwork displayed in the corridors of our nation's Capitol, on view for the many thousands of visitors who walk through the hall daily. The winner also has an opportunity to meet with other similarly talented young artists at the unveiling of their works in Washington, D.C.
All artwork must be delivered to one of Congressman Hoyer's district offices located in Waldorf or Greenbelt by May 13, 2005. Students interested in participating can call Congressman Hoyer's Waldorf District office at 301-843-1577.
After entries have been submitted by the required date, representatives from the local education and business communities will review the artwork and determine which work of art and student will represent the 5th Congressional District on display in the Nation's Capitol. All other entries will be displayed in Congressman Hoyer's Waldorf District Office for one year. The judging is scheduled to take place during the week of May 10th.
NFAA was established in 1981. NFAA's mission is to identify emerging artists and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development, and to raise the appreciation for, and support of, the arts in American society.
ARTS is NFAA's core program and is the nation's only scholarship program for high school seniors in all art forms. ARTS recognizes and rewards the nation's top high-school artists in all art forms i.e., Dance, Film and Video, Jazz, Music, Photography, Theater, Visual Arts, Voice and Writing. Judging applicants from every state, ethnic and economic background, NFAA recognizes 600 to 800 winners with award certificates and cash scholarships ranging from $100 to $10,000.
ARTS national winners then participate in an all-expense-paid final adjudication process known as ARTS Week. Held annually in Miami, ARTS Week is an intense multi-disciplinary experience for these national winners to broaden and deepen their artistic horizons.
Finally, NFAA, through its ARTS program, is the exclusive nominating organization to the Presidential Scholars program sponsored by the White House. At the request of the Commission on Presidential Scholars, NFAA nominates up to fifty ARTS Finalists each year. From this exclusive pool of fifty nominees, the commission selects twenty to be named Presidential Scholars in the Arts.
The Presidential Scholars are honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in June. Performing scholars are featured in a performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Non-performing scholars have their work exhibited professionally at a museum in Washington, D.C.
NFAA's website, http://www.nfaa.org/, is an excellent resource where students can register for the ARTS and obtain more information as it relates to their specific discipline. Simply by registering, a students' name will be forwarded to NFAA's Scholarship List Service (SLS), where over 100 of our nation's best arts colleges, universities, conservatories and professional schools earmark up to $3 million in annual scholarships or internships to these young artists. Early registration ends June 1, 2005 and final registration closes October 1, 2005.
As a strong supporter of arts in the community, I encourage you to share this information with interested students in your community and I encourage all high school artists in the 5th Congressional District in Maryland to take advantage of these tremendous opportunities.