AUSTIN The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) and the Texas Cultural Trust are accepting applications for the 2024 class of Young Masters, a press release announced. Young Masters is a joint initiative that provides exemplary Texas student artists in grades 8-11 with the financial help they need to pursue advanced study in the areas of visual arts, literary arts, music, theater, dance, musical theater, folk arts, and media arts.
The state’s most talented young artists will receive the title of “Young Master” and be awarded grants of $5,000 per year to further their studies in their respective disciplines, the news release detailed. Students are eligible to receive the grant for two years, but they must submit a report and an update. The students selected for this program will represent the 12th class of Young Masters. To date, the Trust and TCA have given 401 grants to 184 Young Masters, awarding more than $1.2 million.
“The Young Masters grant program was created as a way to recognize and support young people pursuing the dream of becoming prominent Texan artists of the next generation,” said TCA Executive Director Gary Gibbs in the release. “We look forward to receiving applications from candidates who are already demonstrating outstanding artistic ability, talent and dedication to developing their knowledge in their chosen discipline.”
Applications, information and guidelines are available online at tinyurl.com/youngmaster. Applications and required supporting materials must be submitted by November 1, 2023. To be considered for the grant, students must be legal U.S. residents living in Texas and participating in a school-based program, a summer institute, or a specialized course of study or receiving private lessons from a qualified professional instructor. They must also maintain passing grades in all academic areas. The Young Masters will be selected by a panel of arts experts from across the state based on artistic excellence, level of commitment and quality of their proposed plan of study. The 2024 Young Masters recipients will be honored at a celebration in spring of 2024 in Austin.
“The Texas Cultural Trust is honored to continue supporting the next generation of talent in Texas,” said Texas Cultural Trust Chief Executive Officer, Heidi Marquez Smith, in the release. “We are thrilled to help these Young Masters take their education to the next level and bolster their creative training. This program opens doors to opportunities never imagined for these young artists and cultivates the Texas legends of tomorrow.”
The Young Masters program is made possible through the generous support of the following contributors:
2024-2025 Texas Young Masters Sponsors: Sarah and Ernest Butler and The Sermoonjoy Fund
Texas Cultural Trust Principal Sponsors: Anheuser-Busch Companies, AT&T, Ray Benson, Kelli and Eddy Blanton, Sarah and Ernest Butler, Four Hands Furniture, Frost Bank, Karen and Charles W. Matthews, The Powell Foundation, Southwest, Texas Monthly, The Texas Tribune, Judy and Kirk Robison, The Tobin Endowment, The University of Texas College of Fine Arts, and The WoodNext Foundation.
