Failure Award Scholarship 2024

The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver is awarding a $20,000 college scholarship to a graduating high school senior who demonstrates innovation, creativity, fearlessness, and a willingness to risk failure in the pursuit of something new. The Failure Award Scholarship rewards a Colorado student who embraces the spirit of creative risk taking with scholarship dollars that can be used at any accredited, post-secondary institution or trade school towards educational expenses. While so much of student life is focused on achievement, MCA Denver believes that in order to create something original and authentic, it is necessary to risk failure. The Failure Award is given not on the basis of academic merit or athletic prowess, but rather on a student’s demonstration of a willingness to take these risks.

The Failure Award Scholarship is supported by the Fries Foundation.

AWARD: $20,000

HOW TO APPLY

Create an account through The Denver Foundation then complete your application
Apply by March 1, 2024

Student presenting on a stage in front of a screen that reads, "process of creating"

The Failure Award is based on documentation of a project the student created or produced while in high school that demonstrates originality and creativity. This can be a creative project, like a novel, a play, an opera; a technology-based project like a design for a new car, or a spaceship, or a robot; or something that falls outside of these criteria altogether. Some projects may present solutions to problems in the world, however, all projects will be considered, no matter how harebrained, impractical, or absurd.

After reviewing submitted projects, finalists will be selected to present their projects to a panel of judges on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at The Holiday Theater. Finalists will also be invited (and highly encouraged to attend) to rehearse their presentations and have dinner the night prior, on Friday, April 26, 2024. The winner will be announced after the presentations on Saturday, April 27.

Get inspired and learn about the 2023, 2022, and 2021 Failure Award Scholarship recipients!

On the blog: Meet Jessica Leal!! MCA Denver's 2023 Failure Award Scholarship Recipient

a photo of a young woman and her family. she is holding a crafted heart on a gold background called El Corazon

On the blog: Meet Soah Blake! MCA Denver's 2022 Failure Award Scholarship Recipient

Watch Soah's film, holding hands with the moon

On the blog: Meet Kaley Corinaldi! MCA Denver's 2021 Failure Scholarship Recipient

Hear Kaley's song, 17

ELIGIBILITY

Students who meet ALL of the criteria are eligible to apply:

Are a resident of and attend high school in Colorado
Will graduate from high school in the spring of 2024
Will attend an accredited, post-secondary institution or trade school in the fall of 2024
Are able to attend the Failure Award Scholarship Presentation on April 27, 2024

SELECTION

Applicants must submit documentation of a project, which they have undertaken and completed during their high school years, that demonstrates a higher level of creativity in the attempt to create something that is genuinely new. We are looking for projects that contain originality and authenticity. All types of projects will be considered, including, but not limited to: visual arts, drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, dance, theater, performing arts, instrument or voice composition, design, fashion, culinary arts, technology, gaming, robotics, business ventures, social innovation, or other creative practice. The project must be the original work of the applicant. Group projects will not be considered. Projects must be complete, and scholarship dollars cannot be directed towards completion of the project.

Finalists will be selected based on their project description and supporting documentation, their demonstration of creative risk-taking, and their presentation. If selected, students will present their project to a panel of judges, as well as to the visiting public, during the MCA Denver Failure Award Scholarship Presentation Event. Each student will be given up to ten minutes to present their work and then will answer questions from the panel. Participants will be evaluated on originality, innovation, and their ability to present a project within the theme of risking failure as an integral part of the creative process.

Finalists must be available to present their projects to a panel of judges at The Holiday Theater on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

Applicants who cannot present their work at the theater will not be eligible for this scholarship. Neither MCA Denver nor The Denver Foundation will reimburse for travel or lodging expenses.

AWARD

The top winner of the Failure Award Scholarship will receive a college scholarship in the amount of $20,000 to be distributed over four years in $5,000 increments. Scholarship awards will be paid directly to the recipient’s school and can be used towards tuition, fees, required books and supplies, room and board, and other qualified educational expenses. Award disbursement is contingent upon the financial aid and scholarship acceptance policies of a recipient’s school. Exceptions are made for students who have been accepted into a college but defer enrollment for one year (commonly referred to as a gap year).

QUESTIONS?

If you have specific questions about this application, please contact Jack Czarniecki at The Denver Foundation, jczarniecki@denverfoundation.org or call 651-245-3536.

If you have questions about the MCA Denver Failure Award Scholarship, please contact Christina Chambers at MCA Denver, christinac@mcadenver.org or call 303-298-7554.