YDA Students Nominated for 2016 Pikes Peak Arts Council Awards

Shaienne Knox and Kalia Hunter, two graduates of YDA, have been nominated for awards at the 2016 Pikes Peak Arts Council Awards this October.  Both filmmakers are nominated in two categories, ‘Excellent Experimental or Documentary Film’ and ‘Young Filmmaker’. Shaienne’s film, OUT OF OUR HEADS, explores black hair: the variety of hair styles that African American girls wear, the commodification of black hair, the pressure to straighten and conform to white standards of beauty, and the role of hair in a political movement for change. Kalia directed the film DOM, which explores the epidemic of teen suicides in Colorado Springs, including a deeply emotional and searing account of the life and death of Dominic Saunders, a local high school student.  We could not be more proud of the thoughtfulness and energy that these two rising filmmakers committed to their projects, and we look forward to celebrating with them at the upcoming awards ceremony (details below).

Peak Arts Council Awards Gala
Tuesday October 4th, 2016
5:00pm – 8:00pm
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

Hosted by:
Susan Peiffer, Pikes Peak Poet Laureate

Join us as we celebrate the amazing accomplishments of artist in our community, in the genres of dance, film, music, poetry, theatre, visual arts, and arts advocacy! 

Click here to buy your tickets.