The Lewis Prize for Music – a philanthropic music arts organization advancing systems change through Creative Youth Development (CYD) – has announced Tuesday, May 18th as the application opening date for its 2022 Accelerator Awards. Accelerator Awards are open to CYD music organizations seeking to influence youth-serving systems so all young people have access to learning, creating, and performing experiences that reflect their culture and identity. Applications are open for eight weeks from Tuesday, May 18th – Friday, July 16th at thelewisprize.org.
Nearly $2 million in funding will give young people access to music education, strengthen the well-being of their communities and put music at the center of efforts to establish equity.
The Lewis Prize for Music is dedicated to fairness, inclusion and transparency. The Prize Finalists and Awardees are chosen through a rigorous and comprehensive process that incorporates evaluation and input from diverse leaders in the fields of music, education, policy, research, philanthropy and community organizing. This includes young adult alumni leaders from creative youth development programs.
Watch this short video to learn how the prize process works from the application opening to the awards announcement. Past applications, rubrics and readers are posted online.
Founded in 2018 by philanthropist Daniel R. Lewis, The Lewis Prize for Music believes high-quality music instruction combined with multi-generational mentorship, wellbeing support, and economic opportunity enables young people to thrive.
However, inequitable systems often fail to prioritize music learning in young people’s lives. As a result, too many young people are not supported to express themselves creatively. This stifles young people’s potential to become powerful citizens, who through musical pursuits learn to contribute positively to their communities. By supporting music leaders across the country to continue their great work, The Lewis Prize for Music seeks to inspire others to ensure every young person has the opportunity to access the transformative benefits of music in their own community.
ABOUT THE LEWIS PRIZE FOR MUSIC
The Lewis Prize for Music believes that music in the lives of young people is a catalytic force to drive positive change in our society. It partners with leaders in diverse and vibrant communities who invest in young people by providing access to safe, inclusive spaces where they can build powerful relationships through music.
The organization is the brainchild of philanthropist Daniel R. Lewis, who has spent the last 19 years focusing on philanthropic efforts in the social and musical arts field, including founding the Miami Music Access Fellowship, serving as the founding chairman of The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency/Miami Music Association, chairman of the Spring For Music Festival and chairman of The Management Center. Learn more at www.thelewisprize.org.
Systems Change and The Lewis Prize for Music
The Lewis Prize for Music believes that music in the lives of young people is a catalytic force to drive positive change in our society. We seek a future where every young person — regardless of who they are or where they live — has access to creative youth development music programs from an early age. We are convinced this can only occur through efforts to change systemic beliefs, attitudes, culture, practices (including funding), and policies.
The Lewis Prize for Music and Creative Youth Development
The Lewis Prize for Music has identified Creative Youth Development (CYD) as the artistic practice with the greatest potential to positively influence systems change for the benefit of young people, and to create universal access to music learning, creating, and performing opportunities. The CYD field models systems change characteristics by incorporating young people into decision making, giving young people tools to express themselves, and being deeply connected to local culture. CYD’s attentiveness to the holistic needs of young people, including their social, material, health and educational wellbeing, makes the field a natural initiator of positive change in other youth-oriented systems. We expect that by pursuing systems change that increases music opportunities for young people this will lead to other systemic changes that achieve equity for young people.