Three UNCSA students are YoungArts national competition winners

Three high school students at UNCSA have won awards in various categories of the 2024 YoungArts National Competition, which honors the nation’s most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts.

Applicants are recognized as YoungArts Award or YoungArts Award with Distinction winners. Prizes include monetary awards which range from $250 to $10,000. Winners with distinction are invited to participate in national YoungArts week in Miami, and be considered for nominations to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Eboni Louigarde, an alumna from Concord, won an award with distinction in the visual arts category.

Marianna Estupinan, a high school senior from Chapel Hill, won an award with distinction in the photography category.

Louigarde studied and Estupinan studies in the Visual Arts Program of the School of Design and Production under Taylor, Kaitlin Botts,  Nicole Asselin and Aaron Pennington.

Laylah Cooper-Holman, a high school senior from Greensboro, won an award with distinction in the spoken theater category. She studies acting in the School of Drama.

“The Visual Arts faculty are thrilled for Eboni and Mari and proud of their performance in this year’s YoungArts Awards,” said Assistant Dean and Director of Visual Arts Will Taylor. “It is an honor for them to be recognized for their hard work and skilled artistry. They both possess an energetic and vested sensibility that is receptive to serious instruction and critical dialogue and are excellent ambassadors of our program.”

"Laylah is a wonderful actor and artist, full of curiosity and promise with a clear sense of purpose, a keen sensitivity and drive to evolve her acting skills,” said Maggie Anderson, acting professor and High School Drama Program director. “She is transformative in her work and I am so proud of her for being named a 2024 YoungArts winner."

YoungArts alumni who have gone on to become leaders in their fields include choreographers Camille A. Brown, a UNCSA Dance alumna, and Desmond Richardson, speaker at the 2019 UNCSA high school commencement; actresses Viola Davis, Anna Gunn, Zuzanna Szadkowski and Kerry Washington; Broadway stars Raúl Esparza, Billy Porter, Andrew Rannells and Tony Yazbeck; recording artists Josh Groban, Judith Hill and Chris Young; Metropolitan Opera star Eric Owens; musicians Terence Blanchard, Gerald Clayton and Jennifer Koh; visual artists Daniel Arsham and Hernan Bas; internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Doug Aitken; television writer, producer, and director Jenji Kohan; New York Times best-selling author Sam Lipsyte; and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Doug Blush.

About YoungArts

YoungArts’ signature program is an application-based competition for emerging artists ages 15-18 or in grades 10-12. Selected through a blind adjudication process conducted by an independent panel of highly accomplished artists, YoungArts winners receive financial awards and creative and professional development experiences working with renowned guest artists. Joining a 20,000-strong alumni community, YoungArts Award winners form a rich network of peers that provides support and opportunities throughout artists’ careers.

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