The Tribune

BAHAMIAN Jazz trumpeter Giveton Gelin has been recognised in the prestigious National YoungArts Foundation awards, placing him among the most promising young artists in the United States in the literary, visual, design and performing arts.

Giveton, 17, from Nassau, was awarded as a finalist, the organisation’s highest honour, and will have the opportunity to participate in the 36th annual National YoungArts Week in Miami, Florida, next month. He will become part of a professional network of over 20,000 alumni artists.

Selected through a blind adjudication process conducted by an independent panel of accomplished artists, the 2017 winners represent the top 8.67 per cent of applications and include only 166 finalists. Drawn from the largest pool of applicants to date, and representing artists from 40 states, YoungArts winners receive awards, including cash prizes of up to $10,000, opportunities to participate in YoungArts programs nationwide and engage with renowned mentors, and guidance in taking important steps toward achieving their artistic goals.

National YoungArts Week, the organisation’s signature programme which runs from January 8 to 15, aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and community while offering finalists the guidance needed to prepare for the next stage of their artistic development. During the intensive, week-long and all-inclusive programme, artists across ten disciplines participate in master classes and workshops with internationally recognised leaders in their field.

Each evening, audiences can experience the work of the next generation of artists through performances in voice, jazz, theatre, dance and classical music, as well as film screenings at New World Center, writers’ readings in the YoungArts Jewel Box, and a visual arts, photography and design exhibition curated by Pérez Art Museum Miami Director Franklin Sirmans in the YoungArts Gallery.