About the Program
Columba Bush, Florida’s First Lady from 1999 to 2007, is a passionate advocate for the arts and arts education. In 1999, she established the Arts for Life! Scholarship Program to recognize the creativity and artistic talents of high school students throughout Florida. Since then, the program has awarded scholarships to more than 250 gifted high school seniors in visual and performing arts.
Annually, Arts for Life! awards $1,000 scholarships to 25 Florida high school graduates who demonstrate academic and artistic excellence in the visual arts, music, dance, drama or creative writing. Students are judged on a sample of work and an essay explaining how the arts have had a positive influence on their lives.
The 25 award winning students are honored at a luncheon and awards ceremony at the end of the school year. During the ceremony, students are invited to showcase their arts discipline through performance and exhibition.
Starting in 2008, artists from multiple disciplines at various stages of their lives - from acclaimed international artists to recent college graduates - shared their insights and advice to the aspiring artists during a professional development session prior to the award ceremony. In 2009, to mark the 10th Anniversary of Arts for Life!, an additional ten scholarships were awarded and a new category - creative writing - was introduced. The year's scholarship winners will be honored on Friday, June 25, at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.