2018 Teeny Awards Recap!!!!!

On Sunday, October 7th, teens, parents, artists, and arts leaders gathered at TeenTix Community Partner The Vera Project to celebrate the 11th annual Teeny Awards, hosted by Priya Frank and David Rue and members of The New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society.

The Teeny Awards are planned with support from The New Guard, TeenTix’s teen governing body, and celebrates 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.

This year’s festivities centered around teen superheroes, both those who have made national headlines this year, and the young people in Seattle’s own arts community who contribute to keeping it healthy and strong.

The pre-ceremony reception included swag bags at the door (chock-full of buttons, tickets, t-shirts, mugs, and MORE!), cupcakes from Cupcake Royale, Rachel’s Ginger Beer, snacks, caricature drawings, a superhero mask-making station, a red carpet photo opportunity, and of course, button-making and a teen voting booth for Favorite Organization!! DJ Atris kept the party going with his original set.

The Awards Ceremony featured a performance from local drag artist Arson Nicki, an improvised skit by ComedySportz Seattle, a reading from 2018 Youth Poet Laureate Azura Mizan Tyabji, and a song written and performed by 2018 MoPOP Sound Off! Finalist Claudine Magbag.

One of the outstanding moments during this year’s ceremony was the presentation of the Youth Arts Advocate Award. Teens are nominated by their peers for this award, which aims to honor young people 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 Izabella Davis, Emrys Foster, Abel Mendez, and Maya Santos.

Abel Mendez took home the award, presented by Ashraf Hasham, Executive Director of The Vera Project.

Abel’s nominator said, “I nominate Abel Mendez for the Youth Arts Advocate of the Year. This is because of his consistent effort in taking himself and his friends to see the wonderful art around Seattle, whether it be to cheer someone up, or just brighten up their day… Abel is a pure patron of the arts and works to support our local arts community with his attendance. Although he is not able to make every event in the area, he still makes time because it is clear that it is important to him. He often speaks about the time and effort that artists have put into their work, and explains how we ourselves are meant to reciprocate this by respecting artists, curators, and staffs, by showing up and spending the time to see their work. After meeting Abel, his respect for art, artists, and the community is obvious.”

The 14/48 Projects took home the FAVORITE ORGANIZATION award, voted on live during the ceremony. Other winners were Seattle Symphony for BEST MUSIC ORGANIZATION, Seattle Children’s Theatre for BEST THEATRE ORGANIZATION, Lady Bird at SIFF won the THE TREAT YO’ SELF AWARD for the most fun way to NOT think about finals, and Figuring History at Seattle Art Museum won the THE KINDLING AWARD for the work that most artfully illuminated a social issue or sparked civic dialogue. A full list of nominees and winners are listed below.

At the end of the Awards Ceremony, Chaotic Noise Marching Corps, a Seattle-based renegade marching band, lead guests from Vera Project to Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in a procession across Seattle Center Campus.

At the fundraising dinner following the awards in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, hosted by local artist Sara Porkalob, supporters raised over $35,000 for TeenTix and its mission to ensure equitable access to the arts for all teens.

Guests were serenaded as they arrived at McCaw Hall by Small Change, a funk and modern jazz band comprised of students from Garfield High School.

Once dinner began, TeenTix Executive Director Monique Courcy was joined on stage by Isabel Schmidt, New Guard President, to present the Community Partner Award to ArtsCorps. Accepting the award was James Miles, ArtsCorps’ Executive Director.

Another highlight of the dinner was a beautiful performance from members of Seattle Opera’s Teen Vocal Studio, a select group of the Pacific Northwest’s finest young singers created to help high school aged singers build their skills and prepare their résumés for college.

The evening wrapped up with a gorgeous poem by Azura Mizan Tyabji.

Photos by Bronwen Houck Photography

TEENY AWARDS 2018 WINNERS & NOMINEES

ORGANIZATION AWARDS - Celebrating the region’s most teen-friendly arts organizations

1. FAVORITE ORGANIZATION
Voted on in real-time at the Teeny Awards ceremony. All TeenTix partner organizations nominated.

WINNER: The 14/48 Projects

2. BEST FRONT-OF-HOUSE EXPERIENCE
For the partner organization with the most welcoming and helpful box office staff, greeters, ushers, etc. All TeenTix partner organizations nominated.

WINNER: CHOP SHOP

3. BEST THEATRE
18th and Union
5th Avenue Theatre
ACT Theatre
ArtsWest
Book-It Repertory Theatre
ComedySportz Seattle
Copious Love Productions
Edmonds Driftwood Players
Intiman Theatre
Jet City Improv
Mirror Stage
New Century Theatre Company
Pork Filled Productions
Renton Civic Theatre
Seattle Children’s Theatre
Seattle Musical Theatre
Seattle Public Theater
Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Shakespeare Company
SiS Productions
Strawberry Theatre Workshop
Taproot Theatre
The 14/48 Projects
Unexpected Productions
UW Undergraduate Theater Society
UW School of Drama
Washington Ensemble Theatre
West of Lenin
Young Americans’ Theatre Company

WINNER: Seattle Children’s Theatre

4. BEST MUSEUM or GALLERY
Bellevue Arts Museum
Burke Museum
Henry Art Gallery
Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)
Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)
Northwest African American Museum
Pacific Science Center
Seattle Art Fair
Seattle Art Museum & Seattle Asian Art Museum
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

WINNER: Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

5. BEST DANCE ORGANIZATION
CHOP SHOP
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Spectrum Dance Theater
Whim W’him

WINNER: Pacific Northwest Ballet

6. BEST IMPROV ORGANIZATION
ComedySportz Seattle
Jet City Improv
Unexpected Productions

WINNER: Jet City Improv

7. BEST FILM ORGANIZATION
Grand Illusion Cinema
NFFTY: The National Film Festival for Talented Youth
Northwest Film Forum
Pacific Science Center’s IMAX & Laser Dome
Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)
Three Dollar Bill Cinema

WINNER: Northwest Film Forum

8. BEST MUSIC ORGANIZATION
Abbey Arts
Early Music Seattle
Music of Remembrance
Pacific MusicWorks
Seattle Chamber Music Society
Seattle Men’s & Seattle Women’s Choruses
Seattle Opera
Seattle Symphony

WINNER: Seattle Symphony

9. BEST CIVIC, CULTURAL, or LITERARY ORGANIZATION
Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas
Hugo House
LANGSTON
Seattle Arts & Lectures
Seattle Center
Town Hall

WINNER: LANGSTON

10. BEST MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ORGANIZATION
Cornish College of the Arts
Edmonds Center for the Arts
Kirkland Performance Center
Meany Center for the Performing Arts
Moisture Festival
On the Boards

WINNER: On the Boards

11. THE IN YOUR BACKYARD AWARD
For the partner organization teens love to visit in neighborhoods outside of the City of Seattle

Bellevue Arts Museum
Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
CHOP SHOP
Edmonds Center for the Arts
Edmonds Driftwood Players
The Grand Cinema
Kirkland Performance Center
Museum of Glass
Renton Civic Theatre
Stroum Jewish Community Center
Symphony Tacoma
Tacoma Art Museum
The Washington State History Museum

WINNER: Museum of Glass

12. BEST YOUTH ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM
14/48 HS, The 14/48 Projects
Drama School, Seattle Children’s Theatre
Teen Docent Program, Bellevue Arts Museum
Youth Programs, Seattle Public Theater
National Film Festival for Talented Youth
Reel Queer Youth, Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Youth Writers Cohort, Hugo House
Henry Teen Collective, Henry Art Gallery
Youth Curator Program, Northwest African American Museum
Teen Advisory Group, Seattle Art Museum
Youth Advisory Board, MoPOP
MOHAI Youth Advisors, Museum of History and Industry

WINNER: 14/48 HS, The 14/48 Projects

EVENT AWARDS - Works must have been produced at a TeenTix partner organization between July 2017 and June 2018

13. THE YOUTH RESONANCE AWARD
For the work that best showcased the work of young artists or engaged topics related to youth

20 under 20, Bellevue Arts Museum
Fly Filmmaking, SIFF
Macbeth, Seattle Repertory Theater
Merriman Family Young Composers Workshop Concert, Seattle Symphony
Parental Advisory?, Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Peerless, ArtsWest
Say It Loud: Simply Me, CD Forum for Arts and Ideas
The Wolves, ACT Theater

WINNER: 20 Under 20, Bellevue Art Museum

14. THE KINDLING AWARD
For the work that most artfully illuminated a social issue or sparked civic dialogue

An Enemy of the People, West of Lenin
Figuring History, Seattle Art Museum
Familiar, Seattle Repertory Theatre
The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Seattle Children's Theater
Love Heals All Wounds, Edmonds Center for the Arts
Seattle on the Spot: The Photographs of Al Smith, MOHAI
Straight White Men, Washington Ensemble Theatre
Wham! Bam! Pow! Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

WINNER: Figuring History, Seattle Art Museum

15. THE EVERYTHING OLD IS COOL AGAIN AWARD
For a classic work revitalized for a contemporary audience

Classic Film Series, The Grand Cinema
The Dynamic American West: Highlights from the Haub Family Collection, Tacoma Art Museum
Great Hall of Washington History, Washington State History Museum
O + E, Seattle Opera
Persuasion, Taproot Theater Company
Pride and Prejudice, Seattle Repertory Theater
Swan Lake, Pacific Northwest Ballet
T. rex LIVE, The Burke Museum
Untuxed Concert Series, Seattle Symphony

WINNER: O+E, Seattle Opera

16. THE ?! AWARD
For an unexpected contemporary work

12 Ophelias, UW School of Drama
Black Bois, On the Boards
CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work
Director’s Choice, Pacific Northwest Ballet
FRESH: A Drag Show for New Talent, 18th & Union
How I Learned to Drive, Strawberry Theatre Workshop
Ride the Cyclone, ACT Theatre
Silent Scream, Whim W’him
Varieté, Moisture Festival

WINNER: Ride the Cyclone, ACT Theatre + The 5th Avenue Theatre

17. THE KALEIDOSCOPE AWARD
For the most transporting work

African American Film Fest, LANGSTON
Balmorhea, Abbey Arts
Dragon Lady, Intiman Theatre
Dream Dances, On the Boards
Forces of Nature, Early Music Seattle
MARVEL: Universe of Superheroes, MoPOP
Seattle Jewish Film Festival, Stroum Jewish Community Center
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, Seattle Art Museum

WINNER: Dragon Lady, Intiman Theatre

18. THE TREAT YO’ SELF AWARD
For the funnest way to not think about finals

A Sassy, Brassy Holiday, Seattle Men’s Chorus
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Edmonds Driftwood Players
Journey West! The Legend of Lewis and Clark, Copious Love Productions
Lady Bird, SIFF
Vanishing Point, Seattle Public Theater
Shakespeare in Love, Seattle Shakespeare Company
Something Rotten, 5th Avenue Theater
Todrick Hall American: The Forbidden Tour, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts

WINNER: Lady Bird, SIFF

19. THE BEST AESTHETICS AWARD
For great design

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Meany Center for the Performing Arts
Emergence, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Everyday Black, Northwest African American Museum
Fun. No Fun. Henry Art Gallery
The Hot Shop, Museum of Glass
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Book-It Repertory Theatre
Seattle Art Fair
Shadow Theatre Fireflies, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
VideOasis, Northwest Film Forum

WINNER: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Book-It Repertory Theatre

20. THE YOUTH ARTS ADVOCATE AWARD
Given by TeenTix's New Guard: Teen Arts Leadership Society, the Youth Arts Advocate of the Year Award celebrates a teen who makes big contributions to our region's arts and cultural community through passion, advocacy, and leadership.

Izabella Davis
Emrys Foster
Abel Mendez
Maya Santos

WINNER: Abel Mendez