Caroline Quach, Morning, 2013, digital, 8.33 x 5.74 in

At only 17 years old, Poly High School senior Caroline Quach has already set herself apart as one of the most promising student artists in the state.

An illustrator with an emphasis in character animation, Quach has been selected, over the last few years, to attend major arts programs from Ryman Arts—which offers college level instruction to high school students—to the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)—a four-week long, immersive pre-professional art training program. She was also named a California Art Scholar and last year earned a 5 on the AP Studio Art exam.

Now, she has earned the most prestigious recognition of her talent to date: Quach is a Merit Award Winner in Visual Arts in the national YoungArts competition.

“I first developed an intense interest and appreciation for animation during my freshman year after watching [Disney’s 2010 computer-animated film] Tangled,” Quach says. “Knowing the amount of work that goes into making such a beautiful film contributed to me considering a future in the arts.”

Quach is one of 687 high school students across a dozen visual and performing arts disciplines picked from a 2014 applicant pool of 11,000 to participate in YoungArts’ groundbreaking programs. With famous alumni from across the artistic spectrum (think: Nicki Minaj, New York Times bestselling authors, and principals with the Chicago Symphony), YoungArts carves out time for these young artists to work with distinguished master teachers and mentors in their field.

While only around 170 finalists make it all the way to the massive YoungArts Week in Miami, Quach’s Merit Award provided her the opportunity to be involved in the YoungArts Los Angeles regional program, which for the last two days has put her through masterclasses and workshops with working artists, critics and curators.

“Since I’m pursuing animation, I try my best to improve all my drawing skills because that will help me design characters and different components of films and stories,” says Quatch. “Since the Visual Arts program at YoungArts is very centered around fine art, the whole experience helped me branch out and try things that are drastically different than what I normally do when I’m trying to improve in subjects related to animation.”

A visual artist, Quach spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week participating in workshops with L.A. sculptors Anna Sew Hoy and Jeff Ono, along with classes led by LACMA curator Franklin Sirmans and Getty Research Institute curator John Tain.

Tonight, she—along with the other YoungArts Photography and Visual Arts students—will present her work at a free exhibition at downtown L.A.’s Theater Center Gallery. Other students will be showcasing their work throughout the weekend with jazz performances, writer’s readings and film screenings, as well as a multidisciplinary performance and music concert hosted at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Quach was recently accepted to the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, where she will continue pursuing her ambitions as a student in the well-regarded Character Animation Program. One day, she hopes to use her skills to secure a job in TV animation.

“Cartoons have such large audiences and I’d love to design characters that inspire people of all ages to have confidence in themselves,” Quach says. “It’d also be cool for children to see a character do something positive then imitate the act or attitude in real life and potentially brighten someone’s day and spread the positivity. Besides moving a crowd to tears or laughter, I want to contribute to a production that inspires people to feel better about themselves and others.”

The YoungArts Los Angeles’ Photography and Visual Arts Exhibition opening takes place March 21 at 6PM at the Los Angeles Theatre Center Gallery located at 514 South Spring Street in Los Angeles. Tickets are not required. For more information on YoungArts Foundation or how you can apply for the 2015 YoungArts program, visit youngarts.org

Photo of Caroline Quach courtesy of Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

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