And the winners are . . .

A Chickasaw composer working on a song dedicated to his wife, a visual artist who makes innovative costumes called Soundsuits, the founder of the dance group Urban Bush Women, and a playwright recalling the legacy of a lynching in Indiana have received the third annual Joyce Awards, which support Midwest cultural organizations and artists of color.

Grants of $50,000 have been awarded to the American Composers Forum in St. Paul, to support the commission of a new classical guitar concerto by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate; the Chicago Cultural Center, to support the commission of 20 new works for Soundsuits, a visual art exhibition/installation by African-American artist Nick Cave; DANCECleveland (Cleveland Modern Dance Association), to support the commission of a new dance by African-American choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar; and the Indiana Repertory Theatre, to support the commission of a new play by African-American playwright Charles Smith.

“This year’s recipients of the Joyce Awards present a diverse and socially conscious group of projects,” says Joyce Foundation President Ellen Alberding. “We are pleased to present these artists and organizations with Joyce Awards, part of our continuing commitment to support the creation of important new and engaging work by artists of color. We look forward to the completed works, and the related programming, which we anticipate will draw new audiences to these outstanding institutions.”

Launched in 2004 as an annual competition, the Joyce Awards target cultural organizations in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and St. Paul/Minneapolis.

The Awards grants go directly to the arts organizations and are awarded in dance, music, theater, and visual arts. This year’s competition drew 54 entries from around the region. Projects were reviewed by independent arts advisors from outside the Midwest and voted on by the Foundation’s board in December. Each award supports the work of the individual artist as well as community engagement efforts.

Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and the American Composers Forum

Founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum, the American Composers Forum has grown from an innovative regional initiative into one of the nation’s premier composer service organizations.

Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate has dedicated his career to helping American Indians find a voice in classical music composition. Born in Norman, Oklahoma, Tate received his bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Northwestern University and a master’s in Piano Performance and Composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

The Joyce Award will support the American Composers Forum to commission Tate to write a guitar concerto that incorporates traditional musical and rhythmic themes from Chickasaw and Lakota Sioux traditions. The concerto will be dedicated to his wife, a Lakota Sioux, and is intended to be performed by classical guitarist Jason Vieaux with the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis during its 2007–08 season.

Nick Cave and the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation

The Chicago Cultural Center, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, attracts nearly 800,000 people annually for its performing and visual arts programming.

Nick Cave is a Chicago-based multimedia and performance artist, fashion designer, and teacher. A tenured instructor at the School of the Art Institute, Cave has degrees from the Kansas City Art Institute and Cranbrook Academy of Art.

The Joyce Award will support the Chicago Cultural Center Foundation to commission 20 new works for Cave’s upcoming Soundsuits exhibition, to open in spring 2006. Inspired by tribal African ceremonial costumes, Cave’s Soundsuits are sculpted, full-body garments that are layered and textured in metal, plastic, fabric, hair, and found objects and designed to make sounds as the wearer moves. The exhibition will include a performance by local dancers wearing the Soundsuits.

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and DANCECleveland

Originally founded as a dance school and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2006, DANCECleveland is the leading presenter of world-class contemporary dance for Northeast Ohio.

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is the artistic director and choreographer of Urban Bush Women, which she founded in 1984. Zollar earned her bachelor’s degree in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and her master’s degree in dance from Florida State University, where she currently teaches.

The Joyce Award will support DANCECleveland to commission a dance by Zollar to be performed by Urban Bush Women. Zollar will collaborate with acclaimed Senegalese choreographer Germaine Acogny and her dance company, Jant-Bi, to create a dance that draws on West African movements, rhythms, and styles.

Charles Smith and the Indiana Repertory Theatre

Founded in 1972, the Indiana Repertory Theatre is one of the nation’s leading regional theaters. It produces nine full-scale productions per season and attracts audiences from across central Indiana.

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Charles Smith is a playwright-in-residence at the Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago and is currently head of the Professional Playwriting Program at Ohio University, where he holds the title of Presidential Research Scholar in the Arts and Humanities.

The Joyce Award will enable Smith to write a play exploring one of the darkest days in Indiana history: the 1930 Marion lynching. Smith will tell the story of two black boys who were brutally lynched, and the escape of another, James Cameron, the only survivor of a lynching attempt alive today. Smith will base his play on research and interviews with historians, survivors, and activists; the Theatre will simultaneously launch a series of public awareness events.

Previous Winners to Perform Work in 2006
The Joyce Foundation started the Joyce Awards in 2004, and two of that year’s winners have already showcased their work. The Cleveland Museum of Art displayed the Joyce Award-winning installation by visual artist Trenton Doyle Hancock in 2004, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra premiered a symphonic composition by composer Roberto Sierra, Sinfonia No. 3 (La Salsa), in September of 2005. Sierra’s composition, which is available on iTunes, was described in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel review as “fantastical, witty and brainy as one of those Matisse still lifes.”

Three recipients of previous Joyce Awards will perform their works this year. Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago will show “The Alchemy of Comedy,” a short film by artist Edgar Arceneaux about the comedian David Alan Grier, beginning March 14. The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago will host “Cursive III,” a dance by choreographer Lin Hwai-min and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, which concludes a trilogy influenced by Chinese calligraphy, on October 13 and 14. A recipient of an inaugural Joyce Award in 2004, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, will perform a work by composer Chinary Ung in connection with St. Paul’s Hmong New Year celebration October 26-28.

Another inaugural recipient, Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, will premiere a play exploring the legacy of U.S. foreign policy in Southeast Asia, written by playwright Naomi Iizuka, during the 2006-07 season. And in its 2007-08 season, the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis will premiere the Joyce Award-winning “Cipher,” a play that tells a war story for the current generation of young soldiers, by playwright and performer Will Power.