The Joyce Foundation is proud to announce the 2010 Joyce Awards winners in the Midwest cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Since 2003, the Joyce Awards program has been the only granting opportunity exclusively supporting artists of color in major Midwestern cities. Joyce is awarding five outstanding arts organizations grants of $50,000 each to support new works in dance, music, theater, and visual arts.

Winners in each artistic category include:

• DANCE: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (Saint Paul) to commission African American choreographer Uri Sands to create a new dance work inspired by the paintings of African American artist Ernie Barnes; Watch Video
• MUSIC: Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago) to commission the African American stringband the Carolina Chocolate Drops to create “Kingdom Coming,” a new multimedia collaborative performance piece that celebrates black heritage from Vaudeville; Watch Video
• THEATER: Steppenwolf Theatre Co. (Chicago) to support a new play based on the biblical book of Job by African American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney; Watch Video
• VISUAL ARTS: The Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee), in partnership with the Chipstone Foundation, to support news works by African American visual artist Theaster Gates for a multimedia exhibition/installation that includes pottery, sculpture, video and music; Watch Video
• VISUAL ARTS: Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis) to commission Iranian American artist Ali Momeni to create two new media installations to launch the museum’s inaugural year of contemporary art programming. Watch Video

Read the entire 2010 Joyce Awards Press Release here

For information on applying for a 2011 Joyce Awards download the application information here.

Media Highlights
Chicago Sun-Times
Crain’s
Minneapolis Star Tribune
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Variety