TeenTix Announces Winners of 2016 Teeny Awards and $70k Raised for Youth Arts Access

On Sunday, October 9th, arts leaders and teenage arts enthusiasts gathered at Benaroya Hall to celebrate the 9th annual Teeny Awards, hosted by local performer/composer Celene Ramadan and members of the Young Americans' Theatre Company, with performances by ParisAlexa and Seattle JazzED.

The Teeny Awards, presented annually by The New Guard, TeenTix's teen governing body, celebrate the best in local arts and culture according to teenage art enthusiasts. Awardees are chosen by the New Guard based on votes by the TeenTix membership.

Last year, The New Guard created a new category: Youth Arts Advocate of the Year. Teens are nominated by their peers for this award, which aims to honor teens who advocate for arts in their schools, instigate arts outings, and inspire their peers to participate in the community. The nominees for Youth Arts Advocate of the Year were Sarah Baker, Noah Sarkowsky, Analiese Guettinger, and Ana Walker.

Baker took home the award, presented by Lara Davis, Arts Education Manager at the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. Sarah is currently a Junior at Juanita High School, has been a part of the Juanita Drama community for three years. She is an avid lover of the arts but particularly enjoys frequenting Seattle-area theatre. Sara is passionate about the opportunity TeenTix provides and works to spread the word throughout her school and community. Her various projects include maintaining a bulletin board since 2014, creating flyers and telling anyone who will listen to explore the TeenTix program. She is expanding this year in her TeenTix committee, launching an awareness campaign to provide Juanita students with the chance to experience the arts.

Sarah's nominator says: "Sarah is an amazing arts advocate at our school! She created a TeenTix bulletin board with a calendar that she draws by hand every month showing what's coming up on TeenTix as well as descriptions of the shows. She has review cards for people to fill out and discuss shows they loved that they saw through TeenTix. She keeps the board constantly updated and really encourages people to step outside of their comfort zone and see shows. Even people not in drama sign up! She works hard at keeping the board looking beautiful and accessible to everyone at our school. She has done an all-around wonderful job of advocating arts and encouraging our student body to take advantage of the arts opportunities all around us!"

Photo by Bronwen Houck Photography

The 5th Avenue Theatre took home the award for BEST YOUTH ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM for their Rising Star Project, and captured the "big" award of the evening: FAVORITE ORGANIZATION OF 2016. EMP Museum's Hello Kitty exhibit got the nod in the BEST AESTHETICS category, Youth Speaks Grand Slam at Town Hall won the EVOLUTION AWARD, for a work showcasing young artists or themes related to youth, and popular newcomer Seattle Art Fair won THE KALEIDOSCOPE AWARD, for the most transporting work. Seattle Rep took home two awards in the same category-THE KINDLING AWARD, for a work that sparked civic dialogue. The New Guard chose to recognize the Rep's productions of Come From Away and Disgraced "for tackling Islamophobia from different perspectives in this contentious election season". The EVERYTHING OLD IS COOL AGAIN AWARD-for a classic work reimagined for a contemporary audience-was shared by Seattle Shakespeare Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Seattle Symphony for each of their respective productions of different versions of teen-favorite Romeo & Juliet.

Hosts Seattle Symphony received the award for BEST FRONT-OF-HOUSE EXPERIENCE, which acknowledges the crucial role that ushers and box office staff play in making new arts audiences feel welcome in their venues.

Photo by John Ulman

The ceremony included performances by ParisAlexa, an 18 year old singer/songwriter and Vocal Loop Artist who focuses on infusing powerful lyrics into modern music. ParisAlexa's unique sound infuses pop and soul sounds with technology. Her instruments of choice are keyboards/piano, her Loopstation, and most importantly her voice. Paris is a one-stop shop and has written, arranged and performed all parts of her collection. Horn players from Seattle JazzED played fanfares while winners approached the stage, and entertained the crowd with a rousing rendition of St. James Infirmary.

At the dinner preceding the awards in the Grand Lobby of Benaroya Hall, supporters raised a record-breaking $70,000 for TeenTix and its mission to ensure equitable access to the arts for all teens. The dinner also served as a changing of the guard ceremony, as long-time Executive Director Holly Arsenault passed the reins to new TeenTix Executive Director Monique Courcy. Arsenault received two standing ovations from the dinner crowd in recognition of her work building the organization from a small, city program to a nationally-recognized nonprofit. She then welcomed Courcy, presenting her with a gold, winged backpack, festooned with 64 buttons (one representing each of TeenTix's 64 partner organizations) and filled with "things to help her on her TeenTix journey." Courcy delivered an enthusiastic speech outlining her vision for the future of TeenTix, but declined to comment on the backpack's contents.

Photo by Bronwen Houck Photography

Bella DeVaan, President of The New Guard spoke at the dinner, describing her experience with TeenTix. "Oftentimes, adults talk a good game about 'empowering teens,' but they end up infantilizing or underestimating us...But every teen who sets foot in the TeenTix office is a part of the real thing. We're trusted, and because of that trust, we come away with a surprising new skill, or a greater sense of professionalism or confidence. The fact that the very composition of the TeenTix organization is imbued with teen perspective explains why it's been proven sustainable and realistic."