The Peter Jay Sharp Youth Arts Fellowship for promising Brooklyn high school students in the arts, seeded by a $75,000 gift in 2011 from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, is administered through the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s Arts for All Fund, which promotes access and affordability throughout the borough’s vibrant creative community.

Each year, ten Fellows are selected from nominations submitted by Brooklyn-based youth arts organizations. Each fellow’s affiliated arts organization will receive $2,500 toward scholarship support for students in its programs; throughout the school year, fellows will meet with arts executives in Brooklyn, attend professional performances and trainings, and receive expert advice and support on pursuing careers in the arts.

During the 2011-12 school year, the first cohort made behind-the-scenes visits to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Mark Morris Dance Center, Brooklyn College, and the Brooklyn Museum.

The Brooklyn Community Foundation invites ongoing public support of the fellowship through tax-deductible gifts to our Arts for All fund.

“We’re thrilled to help extend the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation’s generous capital support of the arts to the next generation,” said Brooklyn Community Foundation President Marilyn Gelber. “We want to enable Brooklyn students to dream big while gaining the knowledge and understanding of how to face the challenges ahead. We hope this fellowship will provide the access and opportunity for talented students with interest in the arts to benefit from our borough’s rich artistic resources.”

The 2012-13 Peter Jay Sharp Fellows:

Mercy Carpenter of Bedford Stuyvesant
Musician representing Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
Essex Street Academy, Grade 10

Kristasiah (Krissy) Daniels of Crown Heights
Writer representing Girls Write Now
Brooklyn School for Music and Theatre, Grade 11

Fabio Gomez of East New York
Visual Artist representing Groundswell Community Mural Project
Urban Assembly High School for Music & Art, Grade 11

Theodore Perevalov of Midwood
Dancer representing Brighton Ballet Theater
LaGuardia High School, Grade 12

Nelson Perez of Sheepshead Bay
Clarinetist representing Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
Brooklyn Technical High School, Grade 10

Faith Robinson of Bedford Stuyvesant
Filmmaker and Actor representing Reel Works Teen Filmmaking
Brooklyn Preparatory High School, Grade 12

Tabia Smith of East New York
Violinist representing The Noel Pointer Foundation
Brooklyn High School of the Arts, Grade 9

Shelise Taylor of Crown Heights/Bedford-Stuyvesant
Dancer representing Dancewave
Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School, Grade 10

Kasiem Aboti Walters of East Flatbush
Dancer representing Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn
Manhattan Business Academy, Grade 12

Rahiem Williams of East Flatbush
Musician representing Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Professional Performing Arts School, Grade 10
 

The 2011-12 Peter Jay Sharp Fellows:

• Kyle Gordon-Andall of Crown Heights, an 11th grader at Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School, submitted by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the specialty of photography;

• Bahati Barton of Flatbush, a 12th grader at LaGuardia School for the Performing Arts, submitted by Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy in the specialty of dance and voice;

• Gabriella (Gabby) Grafakos of Clinton Hill, a 12th grader at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, submitted by Groundswell Community Mural Project in the specialty of muralist and flutist; 

• Tanya Kamenskaya of Brighton Beach, a 10th grader at Leon M. Goldstein High School submitted by Covenant Ballet Theatre in the specialty of dance;

• Bryan Luna of Kensington, a 10th grader at Telecommunications High School, submitted by Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music in the specialty of saxophone;

• Christina Pineda of Ditmas Park, a 12th grader at Brooklyn High School of the Arts, submitted by the Brooklyn Museum in the specialty of visual arts;

• Isaiah Segarra of Williamsburg, a 12th grader at High School for Legal Studies, submitted by STREB in the specialty of “Pop Action” movement and Tae Kwon Do;

• William Suarez of Bath Beach, a 12th grader at Brooklyn Technical High School, submitted by Brooklyn Youth Chorus in the specialty of vocal performance; 

• Alyssa Venable of Williamsburg, a 9th grader at Benjamin Banneker High School, submitted by Dancewave; 

• Anna Vomacka of South Park Slope, a 12th grader at Beacon High School, submitted by Brooklyn Arts Exchange in the specialty of dance.