Crayola Studios, the colorful children’s and family entertainment content division of Crayola, announced Nicole Graves as the first-ever winner of its Kids’ Content Development Initiative, staged in partnership with two-time Academy Award® winner Geena Davis and the Bentonville Film Festival (BFF).
Nicole Graves’s winning entry, ImagINN, is a magical animated series for children 6 to 11, where kids check into a colorful hotel designed to help them navigate big emotions through imagination, creativity, and self-expression.
Nicole Graves, from Katy, Texas will receive $10,000 and the opportunity for development of the winning concept by Crayola Studios.
Sabrina Wiewel, EVP and Head of Crayola Studios, said:
“We were blown away by the imagination, heart, and originality of the submissions to this new initiative, designed to create opportunities for creatives with fresh perspectives and original ideas that can inspire the next generation. Our five finalists all created exceptionally strong and intriguing proposals, making it a hard task to choose just one, but we were totally captivated by [winner’s] presentation which aligns perfectly with Crayola’s values. Now we look forward to working together to develop the idea into exciting new content to engage and inspire young viewers.”
Nicole Graves said: “Thank you all so much for believing in something I have worked so diligently to create. I can’t wait for children to have a better understanding of how we can use imagination and creativity to show them how they feel on the inside. Thank you to Crayola Studios and everyone for giving me this opportunity”
The winning entry was announced at a special event today at the BFF during which five finalists – whittled down from 135 entries – presented their original concepts to a panel of judges, introduced by EVP, Head of Crayola Studios Sabrina Wiewel, including: on behalf of Crayola Studios Rick Glankler, Principal of GoatFish, and Kerry Crowley, Executive Development; Sasha Duncan, Director of Development from Kickstart Entertainment; and astronaut, MIT-engineer turned Emmy-nominated science TV host.
The Kids’ Content Development Initiative was created to discover and develop the next generation of storytellers shaping kids and family entertainment. Inspired by Crayola Studios’ commitment to kids’ creative development, the program provides emerging creators with an opportunity to transform original ideas into content that encourages the behaviors, confidence, and skills that help shape a lifelong creative mindset.
