Arts Advocates awards $38,500 in scholarships to 11 elite Sarasota-Manatee students

Arts Advocates, whose mission is to inspire creativity, advance education, and connect the community to the arts, has awarded scholarships totaling $38,500 to 11 Sarasota and Manatee county students for the 2023-24 school year.

Since 1969, the scholarship program has awarded over $1.1 million to students whose studies include visual and related arts, dance, writing, music, theater and architecture. All scholarship monies are generated through Arts Advocates activities and donations.

“Members of Arts Advocates are proud to support these students in furthering their educations," said Deb Altshul-Stark, co-chair of the Arts Advocates scholarship team with Tonya Eubank. "We are impressed by the work, optimism, and drive of our awardees. We look forward to following their careers.”

· Danny Bó Delongaig, a two-time recipient of an Arts Advocates scholarship, is entering his senior year at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio where he is majoring in musical theater.

· Lillian Fox, who received her second Arts Advocates scholarship, will be a sophomore at the University of South Florida where she is pursuing a double major in studio arts and dance performance.

· Colin Leonard, a three-time Arts Advocates scholarship winner, is entering his junior year at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, studying for a degree in music with a minor in environmental studies.

· Wilderley “Will” Mauricette, who is majoring in film, will be a senior at Ringling College of Art & Design. He received a first-place award at a recent film festival as an emerging filmmaker. Mauricette's full-length feature film, “Monopoly Money,” was shown at the Sarasota Film Festival.

· Maria Medina, who discovered her passion for music at an early age in Cuba, graduated from Florida State College at the top of the music program. In spring 2022, she won the FSC Piano Division.

· Emma Pritchett, a two-time recipient of the Arts Advocates scholarship, is studying at the University of South Florida’s School of Architecture.

· Noelle Prouty, who is interested in studying how art influences our understanding of nature, will be a sophomore at the University of Florida Honors College majoring in art and biology.

· John Quigley, a two-time winner of an Arts Advocates scholarship, is a military veteran entering his junior year at the Ringling College of Art & Design majoring in illustration/digital art.

· Mehak Sandhu, a graduate of the Booker High School Visual & Performing Arts Program, enters college this fall to major in fine arts. Sandhu is focused on the marketing and business side of art.

· Samantha Tanelli enters college in the fall to major in fine arts and illustration and plans to write and illustrate children’s books.

· Danae Tran, who graduated from Booker High School, will major in violin performance. Tran has attended FSU’s Music Camp, Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Tennessee, and the Brevard Summer Institute in North Carolina. At age 10, Tran was selected to participate in the Perlman Suncoast Super Strings Program.

Fox’s and Quigley’s artwork will be on display in July at the Arts Advocates Gallery in the Crossings at Siesta Key, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

Arts Advocates, founded in 1969, awards scholarships to students pursuing careers in the arts and offers arts-related luncheons, workshops, educational tours, and visits to private collections. Visit artsadvocates.org.

Submitted by Kelly Fores

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota fine arts organization awards scholarships to 11 students