Aspiration Foundation (AF) Scholarships for Current High School Students 2017-2018
"To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist."
--Robert Schumann
Student, are you one who enlightens others through art? Are you an aspiring young artist determined to make a difference in the world using your unique talents? If so, allow us to work together to unleash your inner artistic spirit to spread joy, light, and warmth into the hearts and minds of others.
Aspiration Foundation's new scholarship hopes to promote young artists passionate about changing the world. To start off, let me first tell you a short story.
There was a girl named Ming Ming Jiang, who, unfortunately, was blind. Ever since she was little, she had a strong passion for music. Because of her family's poor financial status, her mother set up a small booth that sold various trinkets to send Jiang off to music school to learn piano. One day, after studying for years to develop her natural talents Jiang succeeded in becoming a modern day distinguished pianist. Did she wish to be a famous or wealthy master musician eventually? No, instead, Jiang did all she could with all her influence to give back to the society that had allowed her to be a success story. Through becoming a piano tuner, Jiang was able to inspire even more blind youth to follow in her footsteps, using her extraordinary story to change their lives positively. Jiang conveys the message, “Do not be afraid to touch the piano keyboard even if you cannot see; don't be scared to sing even if you cannot hear; and do not be afraid to travel, even if you cannot walk. In the world of art and music, the blind can “see” colors with their hands; the deaf can “hear” a melody with their eyes; even those with no legs can explore the wonders all around the world with their souls. For in this world, there is nothing impossible, because art creates infinite possibilities.
The model Jiang sets up in this story is exactly what Aspiration Foundation promotes: young artists who not only have their own lives changed by art but also send light to brighten up the dark and gloomy corner of the lives of others using their talent. So, the Aspiration Foundation set up the scholarship to encourage and award such young inspiring artists. We would love to hear your experiences through fine art. Working together, we will change lives through art and spread that spirit.
