Calling All Artists!
SPAC is now accepting submissions in the forms of visual art, literary art, and the performing arts for the next FOYA Online Gallery exhibition and Live Event!
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New this year, SPAC and Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) are teaming up to offer the first Student Composition Contest! One student composer will be selected to have their work premiered by the ESYO Symphony Orchestra during the festival! Click on the link below for more details.
Gallery Launch: May 2025
FOYA Live Event: June 1, 2025
We encourage submissions from middle and high school students as well as performing ensembles!
Teachers and directors may submit on behalf of their students or ensembles.
All submissions are considered and selected based on the following criteria:
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Originality and emergence of a personal vision or point of view
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Demonstrated skill and/or technique
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Interpretation and clarity of the festival theme
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Overall impression and/or impact of the piece
Submission Deadline
All art, literary, and performance pieces must be submitted by the end of the day on January 24, 2025.
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Details For Submissions
Middle and high school students and youth ensembles who reside in or are part of a school or organization based in the following NY counties are invited to submit photos of artwork, digital copies of literary compositions, videos of performances, and digital copies of orchestral compositions: Albany, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Rensselaer, Warren, Washington
Festival Theme
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The 2025 theme is
WONDER
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The 2025 Festival of Young Artists theme "Wonder" is inspired by the work of 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón. Her poetry inspires us to find beauty and meaning in our surroundings and in everyday moments. Limón urges us to maintain a sense of awe and curiosity even when hope seems distant, and she reminds us to appreciate the many wonders of life that foster resilience and discovery.
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"We, too, are made of wonders, of great
and ordinary loves, of small invisible worlds,
of a need to call out through the dark."
- Ada Limón, In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa
Click here to read and hear Ada Limón’s In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa
Submit Your Work!
Art and Literary contests are offered in collaboration with WSWHE BOCES Talent Unlimited Contest.
FOYA 2025 Outstanding Artist Awards
In addition to selecting numerous works to be showcased in the online exhibit and potential 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 2025 Outstanding Artist".
Each of the three artists selected will receive $500 to support the further development of their craft. Award money will be granted in the form of a written check and presented to the student at the live event on June 1, 2025.