Audrey Skodis, Kylah Kuura, Riley Roberts, and Tsai His Hung were awarded $55k in unrestricted artist-development grants in Dallas…
Held on October 31st, husband and wife duo Daniel and Marcella Nutkis hosted their inaugural D&M Emerging Artist Awards as an ode to nurture new artists. These awards are a multi-year and multidisciplinary platform, purposed to support costume, fashion, and choreography. Taking place at Dallas’ Fashion Industry Gallery, known as FIG, in the heart of the city, attendees showed up in full Alice In Wonderland attire. The night was themed “Through The Looking Glass,” where 4 choreographers chosen from 800 applicants, presented dance sets.
As invite-only guests arrived, they were immersed into a Through The Looking Glass theme of wonder with props, foliage, smoke, an air of mystery, tasty cocktails, and lite bites. Dressed to the nines, there were many Mad Hatters, Red Queens, White Queens, and other notable figures from the renowned story.
The production and scenery for the event was next level dreamy | Photo provided by The Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation
For Daniel and Marcella, they didn’t just want a party for the sake of having a party. They wanted there to be a purpose behind evening. Because the arts are a passion for Marella, she put on her creative hat and made the night about supporting artists. Marcella appeared on So You Think You Can Dance and Netflix’s Dancing Queen. She is also a former studio owner and has won many awards herself. Marcella stole the evening with a custom costume by Italian designer Rochart. The one-piece crystal and rhinestone look brought a magical evening.
As guests moved upstairs, the cocktail hour turned into the program where four selected artists from the United States applied, and shared their talent through scenic design, instillation, performance, hospitality, music, and visual storytelling. Spending an intensive week in Dallas and working with Marcella, they developed original sets that were presented on the night of October 31st.
The artists received payment, which helped make up for time they took from their paid work, to perform in the event. TJ McCarthy was a fifth artists who was accepted into the Awards, but he had to step away from the program a week before the event to accept an opportunity in New York City. Their travel and hotel were also covered by the Foundation. Those selected received media visibility, mentorship, and production training which are all a part of their portfolio.
Marcella Nutkis | Photo provided by The Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation
This award was designed to be different to traditional awards. The foundation wants artists to be fully immersed in their process within the event. Having passed through the review process of responding to a curated music track and creative brief, they moved on to creating something original. The originality took the form of creating choreographed dances, movement direction, character-based movement, audience interaction, and other areas to enrich their performance.
Also, because the grants are unrestricted, the awardees are able to invest the funding in their professional growth however they choose, which ranges from training, new work, and future projects.
While the event is over, artists will continue to receive mentorship and creative support, as their professional development is important to Marcella, who is a professional choreographer herself. Marcella Raneri Nutkis is the founder and chair of the D&M Emerging Artist Awards and a co-founder of the foundation.
The next edition will expand into deeper artistic disciplines for Scenic, Installation and World-Building, as well as Costume, Fashion, Wearable Art & Character Design. But the heart of the event will always be to empower and help emerging artists as they seek to grow their creative expression.
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Audrey Skodis, Kylah Kuura, Riley Roberts, and Tsai His Hung were awarded $55k in unrestricted artist-development grants in Dallas…