Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Seattle Symphony have announced the inaugural cohort of the Seattle Arts Fellowship, a new initiative for emerging performing arts leader and administrators of color.

The 2021-22 fellows are Dalanie Harris, Kierra Nguyen, and Gabriela Paez Shutt. They will be placed at Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Seattle Symphony, respectively, where they will focus on aspects such as marketing, community education, and artistic planning. The program next year will include broadcasting when Classical KING FM 98.1 joins the partnering organizations.

The program is geared towards those entering the workforce such as college graduates, or those transitioning towards a career in the nonprofit arts sector.

“The foundational goals of this fellowship uphold my belief that art and artists must be cared for in a way that will sustain their growth for generations to come,” Nguyen said in a press release. “As a recent college graduate, I want to continue to engage in arts administrative roles that promote the arts in informed and innovative ways.”

“Ultimately, I’d like to be in a position to uplift, celebrate, and bring awareness to Black music in return for all the joy it has brought to my life and the world,” Harris added. “I’d like to be challenging the ways we as individuals interpret and analyze music.”

“My ultimate goal in the arts is to increase access to arts education for students, specifically low-income students,” said Shutt, a recent graduate from Florida State University with an M.A. in Arts Administration. “I was very fortunate to have incredible performing and visual arts education through my public schools, but this is not the case for many students.”