The Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation today announced the launch of the D&M Emerging Artist Awards, a new artist-development initiative created to identify, support and elevate emerging creative talent through funding, mentorship, professional production experience and meaningful visibility.

The D&M Emerging Artist Awards are designed as a multi-year, multidisciplinary platform spanning Performance, Choreography & Movement; Scenic, Installation & World-Building; and Costume, Fashion, Wearable Art & Character Design. The inaugural 2026 program will focus exclusively on Performance, Choreography & Movement and will select five individual artists through a national application and multi round review process. Additional categories are expected to be introduced in future program years as the platform develops.

The 2026 D&M Emerging Artist Awards will debut in connection with Through the Looking Glass, a D&M Halloween Party hosted by Daniel Nutkis and Marcella Raneri, taking place Oct. 31, 2026, at Fashion Industry Gallery / FIG in Dallas. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, the invitation-only event will serve as the first public platform for the awards, integrating the five Selected Artists into an immersive creative environment shaped by performance, scenic design, installation, hospitality, music and visual storytelling.

Applications are open nationally to eligible individual artists based in the United States. Attendance at Through the Looking Glass is by invitation only.

Marcella Raneri, founder and chair of the D&M Emerging Artist Awards and co-founder of the Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation, said her personal connection to dance shaped the program’s purpose.

“As someone with a deep connection to dance, I know how much it can mean for an artist to be given not only encouragement, but real support, mentorship and a stage for their work,” Raneri said. “The inaugural awards are meant to help emerging choreographers and movement artists bring their ideas into a real production environment. Through the Looking Glass gives us a way to celebrate that talent inside a world built around imagination, transformation and creative expression.”

Unlike a traditional awards program or stand-alone artist showcase, the D&M Emerging Artist Awards are designed to place artists inside a professional creative and production process. Artists advancing through the review process will respond to a curated music track and creative brief. The five Selected Artists will then develop original work for the event that may include choreographed moments, movement direction, character-based movement, processions, audience interaction and roaming or immersive performance.

Each Selected Artist will receive a paid artist participation stipend intended to help offset time away from other paid work while participating in the program. Travel and accommodations will be covered separately. Selected Artists will also receive mentorship, production guidance, documentary and media visibility, event credit, portfolio material and the opportunity to contribute visibly to Through the Looking Glass.

At the event, three of the five Selected Artists will be named Award Recipients. The Foundation will present a $30,000 Grand Artist Development Award, a $15,000 Artist Development Award and a $10,000 Emerging Vision Award. The unrestricted artist-development grants are intended to support each recipient’s continued creative growth, subject to final legal and Foundation approval.

The Foundation is also launching an Emerging Artist Scout Program to help identify talented artists who may not otherwise encounter the Awards. A Scout may introduce the Foundation to an artist whom the Scout believes should know about and would benefit from the opportunity. An eligible Scout whose referral results in the artist being officially selected as one of the five Selected Finalists can receive a $5,000 Successful Artist Referral Fee (https://dmhalloween.com/terms/).

The awards will be supported by an Advisory & Selection Committee representing dance, choreography, movement direction, immersive performance, live production and artist development. The committee will support application review, artist selection, mentorship and final award recommendations. Additional committee details will be announced at a later date.

Eligible applicants must be individual artists based in the United States and must be 18 years of age or older by Aug. 1, 2026. The multi-round review process is expected to include application and portfolio review, an original choreography submission, interviews and Advisory & Selection Committee review.

Applications will close Aug. 12, 2026, and the five Selected Artists are expected to be announced Aug. 28, 2026. Mentorship and creative development will continue through the Oct. 31 event and beyond, with the program continuing to support and follow each Selected Artist’s professional development after the event.

Emerging artists interested in applying, and individuals interested in serving as Emerging Artist Scouts, may review eligibility requirements, application details and program terms at https://dmhalloween.com/apply/.

Through the Looking Glass is the 2026 edition of D&M Halloween, a recurring curated event centered on creative expression, immersive production, and hospitality and elevated costume. The event will feature an elevated costume requirement, encouraging guests to arrive in fully considered, theme-driven looks that reflect originality, craft and visual commitment.

Additional details regarding applications, the Emerging Artist Scout Program, the Advisory & Selection Committee, the artist-development timeline and event programming are available at dmhalloween.com.

About the D&M Emerging Artist Awards

The D&M Emerging Artist Awards were created to identify, support and elevate emerging creative talent through artist-development funding, mentorship, professional production experience and public visibility. The Awards are designed as a multidisciplinary platform encompassing Performance, Choreography & Movement; Scenic, Installation & World-Building; and Costume, Fashion, Wearable Art & Character Design. The inaugural 2026 program will focus on Performance, Choreography & Movement and select five individual artists to develop work within a live immersive production and contribute to Through the Looking Glass, the 2026 edition of D&M Halloween hosted by Daniel Nutkis and Marcella Raneri.

About the Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation

The Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation supports initiatives that advance the public good, expand opportunity and create meaningful impact across the arts and community-focused causes. Guided by Daniel Nutkis and Marcella Raneri’s belief in using resources and visibility with purpose, the Foundation supports programs that elevate human stories, strengthen communities and help individuals pursue fuller creative and personal potential. The D&M Emerging Artist Awards are one of the Foundation’s initiatives supporting emerging creative talent through mentorship, visibility and artist development funding.

About D&M Halloween

D&M Halloween is a recurring, invitation-only Halloween event hosted and made possible by Daniel Nutkis and Marcella Raneri. Each edition centers on a distinctive creative theme, immersive production, hospitality and an elevated costume standard. The 2026 edition, Through the Looking Glass, will take place Oct. 31, 2026, at Fashion Industry Gallery in Dallas, inviting guests into an Alice in Wonderland-inspired world shaped by performance, scenic design, installation, music, hospitality and visual storytelling.

About Marcella Raneri

Marcella Raneri is a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and philanthropist whose work brings together movement, fashion, visual storytelling and creative expression. Her dance career has included appearances on So You Think You Can Dance and the Netflix series Dancing Queen. As a choreographer and former studio owner, her work has earned multiple national championship, choreography and top studio honors. Raneri’s relationship with fashion is rooted in her understanding of how clothing, movement and identity interact.

Raneri is co-founder of the Daniel and Marcella Nutkis Charitable Foundation and founder and chair of the D&M Emerging Artist Awards. Through the Awards, she is helping create opportunities for emerging artists to receive financial support, mentorship, professional production experience and meaningful visibility. Her personal experience in dance informs the program’s commitment to giving artists not simply recognition, but the resources and platform needed to develop their work and advance their careers.

*Source: AETOSWire

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