The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts is seeking applications for the 23rd annual Nebraska Young Artist Awards.

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

For the areas of dance, music, theatre and emerging media arts, 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 here.

The visual-art category is different. The School of Art, Art History and Design will again host the Nebraska Young Artist Awards/Statewide Invitational Exhibition, which will be on view in the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall in March 2020. Each public and private school in Nebraska is eligible to nominate up to three visual-art students 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 in March in conjunction with the exhibition, and they will be invited to the Hixson-Lied College’s Nebraska Young Artist Awards Day.

The deadline for online applications and nominations in all categories is Dec. 6.

The winning students will be invited to a special recognition day on April 8.

Honored students will take tours of the arts facilities, attend classes, meet faculty and college students, and have lunch. Parents will also be invited and can take tours, as well as 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 talents.

For more information, contact Alfonzo Cooper Jr., director of recruitment in the Hixson-Lied College, at 402-472-0897 or acooper5@unl.edu.