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 from a pool of more than an average 11,000 applications (in 2015, the organization received a record-breaking number of more than 12,000 applications), 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, Plácido Domingo, Carrie Mae Weems, Frank Gehry, Jeff Koons, Renée Fleming, Wynton Marsalis, Rebecca Walker and Bruce Weber—and performance and exhibition opportunities at some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), The Museum of Modern Art (New York) and New World Center (Miami). 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.