Visual artist and U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts nominee Kacey Kim, a student at Harvard-Westlake, uses herself in many of her works, such as “Oppression.” (photo courtesy of National YoungArts Foundation)

The National YoungArts Foundation announced that 11 of 60 nominees for the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify artistic and academic excellence, hail from Los Angeles. YoungArts is the sole nominating agency for this honor and the 60 candidates, representing 19 states and 10 artistic disciplines, are all YoungArts award winners.

The nominations followed the first week of National YoungArts Week+, the virtual adaptation of the organization’s annual signature program, National YoungArts Week. Open to YoungArts award winners at the finalist level, 2021 National YoungArts Week+ included virtual classes and workshops during which the artists were further evaluated for nomination to the program.

The candidates will be reviewed by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, which will ultimately select 20 high school seniors to be recognized for their academic and artistic accomplishments, demonstrated leadership, community service, outreach initiatives and overall creativity.

“National YoungArts Foundation is proud to nominate these 60 extraordinary artists to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars,” YoungArts Executive Director Jewel Malone said. “This past year has brought great challenges to us all, but seeing these artists persevere and overcome such immense uncertainty, change and upheaval has given us all hope. We look forward to seeing what each of them accomplish next.”

The local nominees include Los Angeles County High School for the Arts students Shaman Magic Aponte, Chloe Hoffman, William Lula and Theodore Taplitz, Charter High School of Arts-Multimedia and Performing student Ella Fields, Laurel Springs School student Oliviana Marie Halus-Griep, Brentwood School student Joseph Karz,  Harvard-Westlake School students Kacey Kim, Chiemeka Offor and Allison Park, and Viewpoint School student Charlotte Sedaka.

For more information, visit youngarts.org.