Today’s young artists will shape the future of the world | Opinion

Twenty years ago, I was a drama student at Miami Northwestern Senior High School when I received a letter that had a powerful impact on the trajectory of my life. The letter, from National YoungArts Foundation, said that I was an artist.

It was an incredible moment of validation that I had something to offer the world. It wasn’t my mom or my favorite teacher being nice. My work was noticed and admired by a nationally recognized organization that had no vested interest in my success. Nonetheless, it saw something in me that was worth investing in and supporting.

This one letter gave me the confidence to pursue a career in the arts, as a playwright, journalist and producer. This fall, 686 young people around the country received a similar letter, inviting them to step more assuredly onto the path to declaring themselves artists, helping them realize the value and importance of following their dreams.

What does it mean to declare oneself an artist?

Artists are our storytellers and bridge builders. They are significant drivers of our economy. Yet, many of us don’t even realize how intrinsic artists and art are to our daily lives. We live a life surrounded by art, created and conceived by artists, from the clothes we wear, to the music we listen to, homes we live in and television we consume.

According to Americans for The Arts, arts and culture are a $730 billion industry, representing 4.2 percent of the GDP in the United States. In Miami-Dade County, the nonprofit arts and cultural industry makes a more than $1.43 billion contribution to the local economy each year.

National YoungArts Foundation recognizes the critical role artists play in our lives and the world. This is why for almost 40 years, we have sought to identify the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provide them with the creative and professional development opportunities that allow them to have sustainable careers, and pursue a life in the arts.

We are honored to welcome to Miami 150 young artists who have proudly declared themselves artists. Over the course of National YoungArts Week, Jan 5-12, they will embark on a journey of artistic exploration and discovery guided by more than 100 master artists and mentors, including some of our own program alumni, such as MacArthur “Genius” Claire Chase (1996 YoungArts winner in classical music and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts), and Tony Award winner Santino Fontana (2000 YoungArts winner in theater and Voice and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts). Some of Miami’s own artistic giants, like Grammy Award winner Betty Wright and Dean of University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Shelly Berg will participate.

Many of these young artist will be finding their “people” for the very first time. We hear from many winners, their parents and teachers that this week was when they first found a community of people who are as a passionate about art making, and as committed to change-making, as they are. It’s thrilling to see the lifelong friendships and seeds for future artistic collaboration that are birthed during National YoungArts Week.

Over the next decade, the ideas, compositions and designs these artists will create will become the foundation for our cultural and physical realities. During their time with us, they will be encouraged to challenge themselves, their ideas and the ideas of the world around them so that when they leave Miami, they have not only deepened their own artistic skills, but also begun to experience the importance of their future as an artist, and all the possibilities that entails.

Each year, I am inspired by the innovative ideas, convictions and dreams that these young artists have for the world. They renew my confidence that in their hands, our future is bright. Over the course of this next week, these artists will perform and exhibit their work at New World Center and at the YoungArts Campus. Join us to experience the movement, sounds and words of the next generation of artists who will shape our collective future.

Rebekah Lanae Lengel is a 2000 YoungArts Winner in Writing, and returned to National YoungArts Foundation in 2016, where she serves as the senior director of artistic programs. Go to youngarts.org for more information.

This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 1:45 PM.