ADAPT: A Dream and A Plan for Tomorrow
Each One Reach One, Inc.
South San Francisco, CA

Art Expression, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA

Art Reach
Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Inc.
Provincetown, MA

Arts for All, Inc.
Tucson, AZ

ARTSCooL
City of Atlanta
Atlanta, GA

ArtWorks Summer Program
St. Louis ArtWorks
St. Louis, MO

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklorico
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
Aspen, CO

Boston Children's Chorus, Inc.
Boston, MA

Bridges:Partners in Music
Merit School of Music
Chicago, IL

Cathedral Arts Project, Inc.
Jacksonville, FL

Center for Creative Youth (CCY)
Capitol Region Education Council
Hartford, CT

CEPA's Community-Based Youth Education Program
Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts, Inc.
Buffalo, NY

Deep After-school Writing Workshops
Deep Center, Inc.
Savannah, GA

Delta Blues Museum Arts & Education Program
Delta Blues Foundation, Inc.
Clarksdale, MS

DREAM Program
CityDance Ensemble
Washington, DC

Everett School
Providence, RI

Expanding the Walls
The Studio Museum in Harlem
New York, NY

Express Yourself Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI

Fabulous Females/Temporary LockDown
Storycatchers Theatre
Chicago, IL

Ifetayo Youth Ensemble
Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy
Brooklyn, NY

Investigating Where We Live
National Building Museum
Washington, DC

Kansas City Boys Choir/Kansas City Girls Choir
Kansas City Boys Choir
Kansas City, MO

Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools
New Orleans, LA

Middle School Program
Workshop Houston
Houston, TX

Midnight Shakespeare
Shakespeare - San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

Music Across Oregon
Ethos Music Center
Portland, OR

Music Haven, Inc.
New Haven, CT

New Art in the Neighborhood
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
St. Louis, MO

OrchKids: Planting Seeds for a Bright Future
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Baltimore, MD

Pearl Bailey Youth Program
Newport News Public Library System, Pearl Bailey Library
Newport News, VA

Phoenix Rising Poetry and Spoken Word Program
Art from Ashes, Inc.
Denver, CO

Photography and Leadership Training for Low-Income D.C. Youth
Critical Exposure
Washington, DC

Project AIM
Creative Kids
El Paso, TX

Project Discovery
Dallas Theater Center
Dallas, TX

Project STEP Inc.
Boston, MA

Providence CityArts Youth Arts Program
Providence CityArts for Youth, Inc.
Providence, RI

Publicolor Inc.
New York, NY

Ryman Arts
Ryman Carroll Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

Sadie Nash Leadership Project
Brooklyn, NY

Side-By-Side Visual Arts Apprentice Program
Community School of the Arts
Knoxville, TN

Sphinx Overture Program
Sphinx Organization, Inc.
Detriot, MI

Spy Hop Productions
Salt Lake City, UT

STEP (Student Theatre Enrichment Program)
Cleveland Public Theatre, Inc.
Cleveland, OH

Student Produced Opera/Arts Integration Partnership Program in Rio Rancho
The Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe, NM

TeenSpace Circle of Mentoring
Santa Ana Public Library
Santa Ana, CA

True Colors
The Theater Offensive
Boston, MA

Unified Theater: Spotlight on Ability
Unified Theater, Inc.
Hartford, CT

Urban Artisans
VSA Indiana, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN

WriteGirl
Community Partners - WriteGirl
Los Angeles, CA

Year-Round Arts Mentoring for Youth
Caldera
Portland, OR

Youth Radio is all about taking chances. Most young people find it hard to believe that our perspectives and creative expression have an audience, but that is exactly what Youth Radio provides to young people -- a voice. When you come to Youth Radio, you see the creative process up close: young musicians making beats, poets recording in the studio, and young reporters pushing the boundaries of journalism by adding sound design to traditional radio reporting.

Each artist who has come through Youth Radio in its 20-year history is honored today by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. To receive a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama has special meaning to our young artists.

Artists like me. I came to Youth Radio because I was interested in studio production. I had no idea what I drifted into. I was one of the first students who started composing and producing music at the organization. We were making our own beats and remixes. From there, the opportunities kept coming -- from producing half hour youth shows for commercial stations, to reporting for major outlets like NPR, and then launching an online music station All Day Play.fm for emerging young artists.

That work culminated this year when the Kennedy Center gave Youth Radio producers the original tracks recorded during Marvin Gaye's studio session for the iconic album "What's Going On." We were given the awesome opportunity to remix and reimagine What's Going On NOW for today's generation. We told the story of the remix in a feature on NPR. Younger generations building on history and art to create new work represents everything we do at Youth Radio, and why we are at the forefront of storytelling and digital culture.

Youth Radio has a way of peaking interests...tapping into hidden talents that you would never discover on your own. I'm one of Youth Radio's hundreds of success stories. Youth Radio helped me turn my passions into a career path. I came to Youth Radio at age 17, an aimless high school student really into music that grew into a strong writer and artist with confidence and clear career goals in creative multi-media production. And today, to come as a young producer to the White House makes the work that we do all the more powerful. That our voices, our work could reach the White House is inspiring to young artists across the country. This award will help Youth Radio continue to expand our creative work, using the arts to put more young people on paths to success.

APPLY NOW

Completed applications will only be accepted via the online process. The deadline for application submissions is Monday, February 4, 2013, 5:00 p.m. PST.

African Culture & History through Traditional Dance and Music
African Culture Connection
Omaha, NE

Art Apprenticeships
Better Boys Foundation
Chicago, IL

Arts Education Program for Youth
Arts Corps
Seattle, WA

ArtWorks for Milwaukee, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI

AS220 Youth Studio
AS220
Providence, RI

BookUp National
Book Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY

Boston Children's Chorus, Inc.
Boston, MA

Charter Oak Temple Restoration Association, Inc.
Charter Oak Cultural Center’s Youth Arts Institute
Hartford, CT

Children's Fine Art Classes
Louisville Visual Art Association, Inc.
Louisville, KY

Digital Pathways
Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)
San Francisco, CA

Ethos Music Center
Ethos, Inc.
Portland, OR

Get Lit-Words Ignite
Los Angeles, CA

The Great Debaters!
Bronx School for Law, Government, Justice - NYC Department of Education
Bronx, NY

Greater Miami Youth Symphony
Greater Miami Youth Symphony of Dade County FL, Inc.
Miami, FL

ICA Out-of-School Teen Programs
Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, MA

Ifetayo Youth Ensemble
Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy
Brooklyn, NY

Incarcerated Youth at Play Programs
Actors' Shakespeare Project, Inc.
Somerville, MA

The In-Sight Photography Project
Brattleboro, VT

Intensive Community Program (ICP)
Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Inc.
Boston, MA

Mariachi Master Apprentice Program
City of San Fernando
San Fernando, CA

Mural Apprenticeships
Groundswell Community Mural Project
Brooklyn, NY

Museum Apprentice Program (MAP)
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN

Music Haven
New Haven, CT

Myth and the Hero
Alchemy, Inc.
Copley, OH

New Art in the Neighborhood
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
Saint Louis, MO

Out of School Programs
DreamYard Project, Inc .
Bronx, NY

Paso Nuevo/Next Step
Grupo de Artistas Latinoamericanos, Inc.
GALA Hispanic Theatre
Washington, DC

The Penguin Project
The Penguin Project Foundation Inc.
Peoria, IL

Phoenix Rising Community Arts Partnership
Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, Inc.
Tulsa, OK

Photography and Leadership Fellowship Program
Critical Exposure, Inc.
Washington, DC

Progressions
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
Milwaukee, WI

Project AIM (Arts in Motion)
Creative Kids Inc.
El Paso, TX

Project Youth Art Reach
Class Acts Arts, Inc.
Silver Spring, MD

Providence CityArts Community Youth Arts Afterschool Program
Providence CityArts for Youth, Inc.
Providence, RI

Publicolor Inc.
New York, NY

Residential Programs for Court-Involved Youth
Storycatchers Theatre
Chicago, IL

RISE! (Rhythm in Setting Expectations)
Crispus Attucks Cultural Center, Inc.
Norfolk, VA

Rosie's House Music Education Program
Rosie's House Music Academy for Children
Phoenix, AZ

Ryman Arts
Ryman Carroll Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

Sounds of Hope, Ltd.
Saint Paul, MN

Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute
Sphinx Organization, Inc.
Detroit, MI

Student Historians High School Internship Program
New-York Historical Society
New York, NY

Teen Reviewers & Critics (TRaC) program
The ArtsConnection, Inc.
New York, NY

Theatre Action Project Out of School Time Programming
Theatre Action Project
Austin, TX

Urban Artisans
VSA Indiana, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN

The Urbano Project
UrbanArts, Inc.
Jamaica Plain, MA

WPAS Summer Performing Arts Academy
Washington Performing Arts Society
Washington, DC

Year-round Arts Mentoring
Caldera
Portland, OR

Youth Orchestra LA
Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Los Angeles, CA

Youth Radio
Oakland, CA

Good evening:

Tonight and tomorrow celebrate a tremendous honor for all assembled here.

Each of our programs, honored by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, represents excellence in after-school youth programming and positive change in our communities.

As representatives of the nation's leading programs in our field, we are all part of something much larger that continues to manifest itself in generations of successful young people. That's what this award is about.

For many years now, the Dance Institute of Washington's Positive Directions Through Dance program has applied for the award. The competition has always been significant. Being recognized this year, I cannot tell you how exceptionally grateful and proud I am to have Positive Directions Through Dance honored among this distinguished class of arts and humanities youth programs.

As we are all aware, the achievements of our programs that have brought us to this point are only possible thanks to the support of our various stakeholders, funders, parents and youth participants. This is their award also.

Receiving this award from First Lady Michelle Obama will help the Dance Institute of Washington and all of the other great organizations by increasing visibility for our programs.

Positive Directions Through Dance is not just a dance program. It's about the whole child. We prepare our young people to succeed in life and learning through high-quality dance training, life skills workshops, and performance opportunities on DC's great stages.

Take, for example, Anthony Silver, who came to DIW at age 8, when he and his mother were homeless. Because we were able to provide him with a scholarship, he had an opportunity to grow his skills, confidence, and experience. For high school, he was accepted into the prestigious Virginia School for the Arts and then went on to study at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia.

One hundred percent of our students graduate high school and attend college. Other students have gone on to impressive careers.

Our students learn to work towards a goal, build discipline, acquire self-esteem, and go on to be successful citizens.

All of the organizations here tonight have similar stories of achievement to tell.

Tomorrow, I can imagine no greater honor than joining these leading lights in the arts and the humanities as we go together to the White House.

I encourage all of us to reflect upon the work that we have accomplished together. Let's view this as another new beginning, a new opportunity to have an even greater impact on the lives of our young people.

Fabian Barnes is the Founder and Executive Director of the Dance Institute of Washington.

After School Arts Program for Youth
Arts Corps
Seattle, WA

AileyCamp: New York
Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY

Art Mentoring Program
Venice Arts: In Neighborhoods
Venice, CA

AS220
Providence, RI

AWOL Arts and Technology Youth Development Program
A.W.O.L. All Walks of Life, Inc.
Savannah, GA

Blunt Youth Radio Project
USM Student Senate
Portland, ME

Boston Children's Chorus, Inc.
Boston, MA

Careers in the Arts
Young Audiences of Maryland, Inc.
Baltimore, MD

CENTERSTAGE Education Programs
Center Stage Associates Inc.
Baltimore, MD

Children's Fine Art Classes
Louisville Visual Art Association
Louisville, KY

Crescendo Music Program
Academy of Community Music, Inc.
Ambler, PA

Diaz Music Institute
Houston, TX

DreamYard Out of School Program
DreamYard Project, Inc.
Bronx, NY

Ethos Music Center
Ethos Inc.
Portland, OR

Greenbrier Learning Center
Arlington, VA

Greater Miami Youth Symphony of Dade County, FL
Miami, FL

More than Music
Girls Incorporated of Omaha
Omaha, NE

Mural Crew, Public Art Projects, Artbotics, ARTicle Fashion, and Performance Programs
The Revolving Museum, Inc.
Lowell, MA

MYSO Progressions
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI

Myth and Heroes
Alchemy, Inc.
Copley, OH

Music Haven, Inc.
New Haven, CT

Phoenix Rising Poetry and Spoken Word Program
Art from Ashes, Inc.
Denver, CO

PML Players
Patchogue-Medford Library
Patchogue, NY

Rising Artists Program
The Walden School
San Francisco, CA

Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute
Sphinx Organization, Inc.
Detroit, MI

Sounds of Hope, Ltd.
Saint Paul, MN

Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC)
The ArtsConnection, Inc.
New York, NY

The CityKids Repertory Company
The CityKids Foundation
New York, NY

The Urbano Project
Urban Arts, Inc.
Jamaica Plain, MA

Tiered Mentoring and Apprenticeship Program
Everett Dance Theatre
Providence, RI

Traditional Folklorico Mexicano Dance Program
El Museo Latino
Omaha, NE

transcenDANCE Teen Performance Troupe
transcneDANCE Youth Arts Project
San Diego, CA

Urban Artisans
VSA arts of Indiana
Indianapolis, IN

W.O. Smith/Nashville Community Music School
Nashville, TN

WPAS Summer Performing Arts Academy
Washington Performing Arts Society
Washington, DC

WriteGirl
Los Angeles, CA

Year-round Youth Arts Mentoring
Caldera
Portland, OR

Youth Media Institute
Amplifyme
Boston, MA

Click here to see the 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalists!
 

When I got the call from Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) telling me that I was going to the White House, I thought that maybe I was dreaming. I was amazed. I felt anxious when YPT told me that I was the only student who was going to give a speech there.

The big day arrived. I was so fearful because I felt like I wasn't ready to go on stage and give the speech. David Snider, YPT Producing Artistic Director, supported me by telling me that I would do a great job.

While I was giving the speech, I had the sensation that I wasn't doing it right. At first I felt like I couldn’t talk, but then I saw the First Lady looking at me with that beautiful look that she has, so I said to myself, "Mariana, you have to do it better." I started reading it the way I had practiced.

When the First Lady was giving the awards to the programs and YPT was called to go on stage I felt glad. When she hugged me, I felt delighted. When she asked me how I was doing in school, how my mom was doing, and if I was planning go to college, I felt so joyful and impressed because she was interested in me. At the end of the ceremony, students from another award-winning music program gave a jazz performance and did some amazing tap dancing!

I am so happy that I had this experience. My teachers, fellow Wakefield High School students, and the whole YPT staff watched my speech and told me that I did a great job. Most importantly, my mom was able to watch my speech in Nicaragua. She is so proud of me, and I am happy that I got to share this incredible moment with her.
 

Over the last 13 years, Coming Up Taller has been a key initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and now it has a new name: National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. This new name will serve to enhance the immediate recognition of the national significance of the award.
 
Other exciting changes include a dynamic new website, an online application submission process, and enhanced efforts to better serve our awardees by expanding the annual conference for award recipients. The website features information about our award-winning programs, which are some of the greatest examples of best practices in the field. It also has a resource section with access to research, federal funding links, and current organizational capacity-building tool kits. Through the website, we also want to utilize the latest communication technology, so our hope is that this blog will become a forum for sharing diverse perspectives on current trends and issues in the field.
 
In moving forward in this next chapter for the award, we look forward to many more years of celebrating the outstanding achievements of arts and humanities programs that have enriched the lives of so many young people throughout our country and beyond.
 
Thank you for your interest in the award. Stay tuned, subscribe to our RSS feed and check-in often!