SPAC Announces Call for Submissions for The 2022 Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists

Presidential Inaugural Poet & SPAC Visiting Artist Richard Blanco to select literary arts finalists and lead new mentorship program for the festival.

Three $500 “FOYA 2022 Outstanding Artist” Awards will be given to student artists in Visual, Literary and Performing Arts. All submissions will be considered for the May 2022 online gallery titled Interdependence, inspired by Blanco’s poem.

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) announces that its student artist submission portal for The 2022 Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists (FOYA) online gallery is now open for submissions in visual, literary and performing arts at spacfoya.org. New for the 2022 festival and online gallery will be the participation of Presidential Inaugural Poet and SPAC Visiting Artist Richard Blanco, who will select the literary arts finalists and lead a mentorship program with those students. Back by popular demand are the “FOYA 2022 Outstanding Artist” awards featuring $500 scholarships for students in each of the three categories – Visual Art, Literary Art, and the Performing Arts. Submissions are strongly encouraged to incorporate the festival theme of Interdependence, inspired by Richard Blanco’s poem. The deadline for all submissions is January 7, 2022.

“Last month, we welcomed Richard Blanco to SPAC as the first visiting artist at our School of the Arts. We are delighted to continue our work with him to inspire and mentor local students in our festival through his poem, ‘Declaration of Interdependence.’ ‘Interdependence’ speaks to the interconnectedness of all people as well as our dependency on each other for hope and happiness, which is particularly relevant as we emerge from the darkest days of the pandemic. We look forward to experiencing the students’ creations this year, and their collaborations with this spectacular artist and educator,” said Dennis Moench, senior director of education at SPAC and the school director at the SPAC School of the Arts.

The online gallery www.spacfoya.org will re-launch in May 2022 to showcase Interdependence, featuring the accepted student submissions for the upcoming 2022 Festival. All students with accepted submissions will be notified in March 2022 to make arrangements to showcase their work at SPAC’s live festival event scheduled for June 5, 2022.

LITERARY WORKSHOPS WITH RICHARD BLANCO

Three students who submit literary submissions will be selected to work with Presidential Inaugural Poet and Visiting Artist Richard Blanco in two two-hour virtual workshops during the months of March-May. These students will be working on their submitted poetry with Mr. Blanco and finessing their recitations of those pieces in preparation for a collaborative performance on the main stage at SPAC on June 5.

FOYA 2022 OUTSTANDING ARTIST AWARDS

In addition to selecting numerous works to be showcased in the online gallery and live event, Saratoga Performing Arts Center is awarding one student in each of the three categories – Visual Art, Literary Art, and the Performing Arts – with the distinction “FOYA 2022 Outstanding Artist.”  Works of the selected visual, literary, and performing artists will be featured on SPAC’s website and social media channels. Collaborations with multiple students, especially those that showcase multiple art forms are encouraged. 

Each of the three artists selected will receive $500 to support the further development of their craft.

Students considered for a FOYA 2022 Outstanding Artist Award must meet the following criteria:

• Student must be enrolled in grades 9-12

• Students must live in or be part of an organization or school located in one the following NY counties: Albany, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Rensselaer, Warren, Washington

• Student’s submitted work should adhere to the Festival theme of “Interdependence,” inspired by the poem, Declaration of Interdependence by presidential inaugural poet, Richard Blanco. Definition: The state of being dependent upon one another.

Works inspired by the Festival theme are strongly encouraged. However, it is not mandatory to adhere to the festival’s theme in order to be considered for inclusion in the exhibit. All submissions are welcome. *

*PLEASE NOTE* In accordance with the Dignity for All Students Act, any works of art that are deemed discriminatory, derogatory, intimidating, violent, harassing, taunting and/or bullying will not be accepted into this festival.

The Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists is a curated online gallery space and live event. Therefore, only a select number of submissions will be chosen and showcased on spacfoya.org and in the potential live event in the spring.  All Artists will be notified by email whether their submission was or was not accepted by March 1st, 2022.