National YoungArts Foundation New York Gala

On Tuesday, April 16, the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) will welcome nearly 300 of New York City’s top cultural and community leaders, philanthropists, celebrities and art aficionados to the fourth annual YoungArts New York Gala in The Temple of Dendur at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The festive evening will celebrate aspiring artists in the cultural capital of New York and across the nation, as well as this year’s 710 YoungArts winners—more than 50 of whom hail from the greater New York area. Presented by Baccarat, the event will be hosted by gala honorary co-chairs Derrick Adams and Agnes Gund, and co-chairs Sarah Arison, Gillian Hearst and Sandra Tamer.

The YoungArts New York Gala will be emceed by Broadway and TV star Daniel Watts (2000 YoungArts Winner in Dance) and will feature an elegant reception and seated dinner. Throughout the evening, a series of interdisciplinary performance vignettes will be directed by Grammy Award nominee Michael McElroy (1985 YoungArts Winner in Theater), and will feature a line-up of performances by emcee Daniel J. Watts, Kassi Abreu (2002 YoungArts Winner in Dance), Joshua Banbury (2013 YoungArts Winner in Theater and Voice), Cole Davis (2015 YoungArts Winner in Jazz), Ryan Doyle (2018 YoungArts Winner in Voice), Danny Fox (1998 YoungArts Winner in Jazz & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts), Joshua Green (2018 YoungArts Winner in Jazz), Mara Jill Herman (2003 YoungArts Winner in Theater), Jay Julio (2016 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music), Harrison Knostman (2018 YoungArts Winner in Dance), Liisi LaFontaine (2013 YoungArts Winner in Voice), Derek Louie (2016 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music), Kevin Sherwin (2012 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music) and Roxanne Young (2006 YoungArts Winner in Dance), among others.

In addition to their generous financial support, Baccarat is providing elements from their collection — including specialty flatware, glassware and table décor for the glamourous event.

Continuing YoungArts’ longstanding and ever-growing commitment to supporting emerging artists, the event will kick off the organization’s annual regional program YoungArts New York, which will take place from April 23 – 28 and feature an exhibition at Sotheby’s New York and performances at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC). As part of a series of regional programs also presented in Los Angeles and Miami—and modeled after the organization’s signature program, National YoungArts Week, YoungArts New York provides 2019 YoungArts winners from the southeast region of the country with life-changing opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary workshops, seminars and master classes with renowned leaders in their fields, including photographer Lydia Bittner-Baird, screenwriter Shari Carptenter and Joan Mitchell Fellow and visual artist Yashua Klos. This year, participants will showcase their talents to local audiences through performances directed by composer Jeanine Tesori with jazz direction by musician Emmet Cohen (2009 YoungArts Winner in Jazz), and a classical music concert and writers’ readings directed by Dave Eggar (1987 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) and author and award-winning journalist Joan Morgan.