Culver City Observer -

Culver’s Sequoia Sherriff Is Finalist at YoungArts

YoungArts has announced its 2018 winner. They include Sequoia Sherriff (17) from Culver City High School who won for Cinematic Arts. YoungArts winners are 757 of the nation’s most promising young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts.

Selected through a blind adjudication process conducted by an independent panel of highly accomplished artists, the 2018 winners represent the top 10 percent of applications.

Of this year’s 757 winners some have been awarded for excellence in multiple disciplines at various levels. Altogether, 781 awards have been attributed: 171 have been named Finalists, the organization’s highest honor, 270 are Honorable Mention and 340 are Merit winners.

As a finalist Sherriff will have the opportunity to participate in the 37th annual National YoungArts Week in Miami January 7–14, 2018. All winners become part of a professional network of over 20,000 alumni artists and are eligible to participate in YoungArts’ regional programs, including YoungArts Miami (February 20–25, 2018), YoungArts Los Angeles (March 24–29) and YoungArts New York (April 24–29)

The National YoungArts Foundation identifies and nurtures the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts and assists them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development. YoungArts aspires to create a community of alumni that provides a lifetime of encouragement, opportunity and support.

The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison. 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 conducted by an independent panel of highly accomplished artists, YoungArts Winners receive valuable support, including financial awards of up to $10,000, professional development and educational experiences working with renowned mentors—such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sarah Brightman, Plácido Domingo, Frank Gehry, Jeff Koons, Wynton Marsalis, Rebecca Walker and Carrie Mae Weems—and performance and exhibition opportunities at some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions.

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. U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts receive a Presidential Medal at the White House and perform and exhibit at the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian.