East End Arts Now Accepting Applications for Annual $ 10,000 Linda Rie Cohen Rising Star Award

East End Arts Council is Now Accepting Applications for the Annual

$10,000 Linda Rie Cohen Rising Star Award

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The memorial merit award seeks to support the future of a young adult
with a strong connection to the East End who shows ambition
and achievement in arts, music, performance, and/or science.

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The memory of Linda Rie Cohen, a North Fork resident and champion of the arts and sciences, is honored for the fourth year through an endowment established by her husband that annually recognizes the merits of a local young achiever. The Linda Rie Cohen Rising Star Award is an annual merit-based, unrestricted prize facilitated by East End Arts & Humanities Council [EEAC] and given to a single local 16–20-year-old individual who shows ambition and accomplishment in areas of art, music, performance, and/or science. Applications are completed online and due by midnight on May 1, 2026. Applicants do not have to be students at EEAC but should have a strong connection to the East End.

“I want this award to make a positive difference in the trajectory of a young person’s life,” states Linda’s widower and the endowment founder. Selection is by committee and is subjective, not based on financial need but instead on the potential positive impact of the young talent.

“We’re thrilled to work with this Rising Star Award Committee and help the next generation of artists, performers, and innovators realize their dreams,” says Wendy Weiss, EEAC Executive Director.

The 2025 award committee, consisting of volunteers Eileen McGuire, Susan Rosenstreich, and Gary Hygom, meticulously reviewed over a dozen applications from young locals with an array of talents in art, music, dance, and innovation before selecting 20-year-old Kiera Bree, a Manorville native and Stony Brook University student with a focus in visual arts and botany. Past Rising Star Award winners include Annika Griffing of East Moriches and Orient native Franklin Mastroangelo, who has since performed on American Idol and contracted with a record label. Committee members rotate each year or two and have backgrounds in the arts, performance, or science themselves.

This is not a financial need-based award, nor is it a scholarship. The awarded money can be used at the discretion of the winner. Linda Rie Cohen Rising Star Award candidates must be 16 – 20 years old and demonstrate exceptional talent combined with strength and drive focused on the arts, music, and/or science. Applicants must include samples of their work, provide letters of reference, and submit essays describing why they deserve consideration and how the award would help them reach future goals.

Applicants do not have to be students at EEAC but should have a strong connection to the East End. Applications are completed online and due by midnight on May 1, 2026. The award winner is announced by June 1 and coordinates a public exhibition or performance with EEAC to officially receive their prize.

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East End Arts Council

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East End Arts & Humanities Council [EEAC] is a 501[c][3] nonprofit organization with the mission to enrich and connect the communities of Eastern Long Island through the arts. Its inception in 1972 makes it the third oldest arts organization on the East End, and its headquarters in Downtown Riverhead, on the nexus of the twin forks, makes East End Arts Council a year-round hub for art and music enrichment and a showcase for artists who live, work, and visit the area. EEAC provides vital education, exhibition, opportunities, collaborations, and events to the local community.

For more information, email info@eastendarts.org, call 631.727.0900, or visit eastendarts.org.

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