The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts is seeking applications for the 20th annual Nebraska Young Artist Awards.

The awards annually recognize 11th-grade students from Nebraska who are talented in visual art, dance, music, theatre, and film and new media. These students exemplify the pinnacles of creativity in one of the fine and performing arts.

For the areas of music, dance, theatre, and film and new media, students must submit an application online, which includes uploading a sample of their work and a letter of recommendation from a teacher. Full instructions are available at http://go.unl.edu/nyaa.

The visual art category is changing this year. The School of Art, Art History and Design is creating the Nebraska Young Artist Awards/Statewide Invitational Exhibition, which will be on display at the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall in March 2017.

Each public and private school in Nebraska is eligible to nominate one visual art student for the exhibition.

School of Art, Art History and Design faculty will then jury the exhibition and select the recipients of the Nebraska Young Artist Awards. The winners will be announced at a reception March 10, and they will be invited to the Hixson-Lied College’s Nebraska Young Artist Awards Day.

The deadline for online applications and nominations is Dec. 9. For full instructions and a link to the online submissions in Slideroom, visit http://go.unl.edu/nyaa.

The winning students will be invited to a special recognition day on April 5.

Honored students will take tours of the arts facilities, attend classes, meet faculty and college students and have lunch. Their parents will also be invited, and they will also take tours and receive information on careers in the arts and college curriculum. The day will conclude with an awards ceremony.

Students selected to participate in the Nebraska Young Artist Awards will also be asked to nominate the teacher who provided them with the greatest amount of mentoring and support in the development of their special talents.

For more information, contact Kathe Andersen at (402) 472-9355 or e-mail kandersen1@unl.edu.