Check out the latest insights from our program team and grantees.
Grantees
Ron OJ Parson
Acclaimed director/actor Ron OJ Parson is in a season of radical reflection. In a 50-year career that most creatives dream of, Parson has become one of the nation’s pre-eminent theater directors. Learn more about his work here.

We the People of Detroit
We the People of Detroit is a grantee partner of Joyce’s Environment Program. Learn more about the organization here.

They Got NEXT — Chicago Sinfonietta Celebrates 35 Years
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Sinfonietta, like so many organizations, was forced to reimagine itself, pivoting programming and performances to a fully virtual space.
Grantee
Chicago Sinfonietta

Congo Square Play Promotes Healing, Catharsis in Chicago
Congo Square Theatre is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. For 20 years it has committed to telling stories by and for Black people.
Grantee
Congo Square Theatre Company

Building collective power through research
Black Researchers Collective was founded in 2019 with a mission to train and equip communities with the research tools necessary to be more civically engaged and policy informed.
Grantee
Black Researchers Collective

The nation’s first Black arts museum
South Side Community Art Center is the nation’s first Black arts museum that develops and showcases some of the nation’s most influential Black artists.
Grantee
South Side Community Art Center
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Joyce Awards Information Session - August 2023
Culture director Mia Khimm and grants manager Lynne Wiora discuss the Joyce Awards program and application process. LOIs are due on Sept. 11, 2023. New applicants should create accounts by Sept. 6, 2023.
Ron OJ Parson
Acclaimed director/actor Ron OJ Parson is in a season of radical reflection. In a 50-year career that most creatives dream of, Parson has become one of the nation’s pre-eminent theater directors. Learn more about his work here.
2024 Joyce Awards applications open: Grants increased to $100K each
Now accepting applications for the 2024 Joyce Awards

2023 Joyce Awards Announcement
We’re thrilled to announce the 2023 winners of our Joyce Awards, which support the creation of community-driven new works by artists of color in partnership with organizations in the Great Lakes region.

They Got NEXT — Chicago Sinfonietta Celebrates 35 Years
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Sinfonietta, like so many organizations, was forced to reimagine itself, pivoting programming and performances to a fully virtual space.
Grantee
Chicago Sinfonietta
Joyce Awards Information Session - August 2022
Culture director Mia Khimm and grants manager Lynne Wiora discuss the Joyce Awards program and the application process. LOIs are due on September 12, 2022. New applicants should create accounts by September 7, 2022.

2022 Joyce Awards Announcement
Five innovative new projects by pioneering artists of color spanning the visual, performing, and multidisciplinary arts that engage diverse communities in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul will receive this year’s annual awards.

The “Full-Circle” Moment of Nick Cave and Forothermore
Recent work by Internationally acclaimed, Chicago-based artist and Joyce Awards winner Nick Cave.

Congo Square Play Promotes Healing, Catharsis in Chicago
Congo Square Theatre is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. For 20 years it has committed to telling stories by and for Black people.
Grantee
Congo Square Theatre Company

Groundbreaking Lyric Opera Show Led by Two Joyce Award Winners
Profile on Joyce Award Winners Terence Blanchard & Camille A. Brown involvement in new Lyric Opera show

Building collective power through research
Black Researchers Collective was founded in 2019 with a mission to train and equip communities with the research tools necessary to be more civically engaged and policy informed.
Grantee
Black Researchers Collective

The nation’s first Black arts museum
South Side Community Art Center is the nation’s first Black arts museum that develops and showcases some of the nation’s most influential Black artists.
Grantee
South Side Community Art Center
Joyce Awards Information Session - August 2021
Joyce Awards application information and 2021 Virtual Session recording.

Pivoting to a reimagined stage
The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project adapts and endures, rethinking performance space and how to reach audiences and students through a pandemic.
Artist Uses Graphite to Mark Time in Tribute to Historic Art Center
Interdisciplinary artist Faheem Majeed uses graphite to mark the past, present and future of the oldest African American art center in the country–the South Side Community Art Center.
Grantee
Faheem Majeed, 2020 Joyce Awards recipient
A conversation with 2021 Joyce Award recipients
2021 Joyce Awards winners together for the first time discuss their projects– four impactful collaborations spanning the visual, performing, and multidisciplinary arts that engage diverse communities in Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.