YoungArts celebrates 40 years of nurturing creatives, and looks to the future | Opinion

YoungArts celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. As we mark this momentous milestone, I find myself reflecting on why my grandparents, Ted and Lin Arison, founded the organization, its importance to Miami and the integral role artists play in our lives.

I’ve realized that their goal was audacious.

My grandparents set out to create an organization that supports emerging artists across all disciplines — from pianists to painters, ballerinas to pop singers, poets to fashion designers. They sought to encourage young people to pursue a career in the arts, to create space for “aha!” moments, to provide the encouragement and validation that is vital to the creative journey and to open access to leading artists in every field.

I might have said that it was too ambitious a goal. But here we are, four decades later, and their vision has touched the lives of more than 20,000 artists across the performing, literary and visual arts. And that impact has a ripple effect, not just on the artists, their families and their disciplines, but also on the whole cultural community — and society at large.

YoungArts chose Miami as its home for a reason. In 1981, my grandparents saw a future for this city, one that included prestigious arts institutions, a vibrant art scene and organizations that uplift the arts and artists. YoungArts’ own growth is just one example of this.

When we started, it was hidden, tucked inside a large office building in a rented space. YoungArts is now the steward of one of the most iconic properties in Miami, the former Bacardi Complex, which has been transformed from private corporate offices into a multiple disciplinary arts complex. It is a touchpoint for the community, a space where artists can gather to hone their craft, a place where their work can flourish through exhibitions, readings and performances.

This spring, we will present “Home: Reimagining Interiority,” a new group exhibition that explores, through photographic and text-based artwork, how the tumult of the past two years has affected notions of home and identity. The show opens at 6 p.m. April 7 at YoungArts, 2100 Biscayne Blvd.

Brilliantly curated by Dr. Joan Morgan and Dr. Deborah Willis, both directors at the NYU Institute of African American Affairs, Center for Black Visual Culture, “Home” explores the significant ways Black visual narratives respond to dynamic cultural, political, social, economic and intimate changes, demonstrating how integral art is to our experience as we strive to understand ourselves, each other and our world.

Exhibitions like this continue to realize YoungArts’ mission: bringing together YoungArts award winners past and present, supporting their work and sharing it with the public.

I am grateful for my grandparents’ audacity, for their sheer belief in supporting artists and knowing that, in doing so, they were investing in the future of society.

Sarah Arison is president of Arison Arts Foundation.

This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 6:50 PM.