Joyce Foundation Announces Recipients of 2022 Joyce Awards

Awardees: Nancy García Loza with the National Museum of Mexican Art, Nabil Ince with the Harrison Center, Michael Manson with Living Arts, Aram Han Sifuentes with the HANA Center, and Pramila Vasudevan with Public Art Saint Paul

The Joyce Foundation today announced the 2022 recipients of the annual Joyce Awards, which support the creation of innovative new work by pioneering artists of color working in collaboration with communities in the Great Lakes. This year's awards fund projects that empower communities through artistic collaboration by exploring the myriad ways that the visual and performing arts can uplift local histories and traditional knowledge, deepen understanding of immigrant experiences, foster inclusivity, and encourage greater community cohesion. Following the award's expansion from $50,000 to $75,000 in 2021, this year's grants mark the largest total Joyce Awards offered to date, awarding five grants of $75,000 each.

The only regional program dedicated to supporting new commissions by artists of color in major Great Lakes cities, the Joyce Foundation has awarded more than $4 million to the development of new works of visual, performing, and multidisciplinary art presented in collaboration with organizations in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis-St Paul. While the foundation's grantmaking has a regional focus, its work has national impact, demonstrating the capacity of the arts and artists to inspire and mobilize social change. In addition to boosting the careers of artists, the awards are dedicated to fostering culturally vibrant, equitable, and sustainable communities in the region.

"Since 2004, the Joyce Awards have supported more than 77 extraordinary artists of color and their community-driven projects in the Great Lakes region," said Joyce Foundation President and CEO Ellen Alberding. "This year's winners follow that same fine tradition. Their work will reach new audiences to amplify diverse cultural traditions and practices that make our Great Lakes region so vibrant."

The 2022 Joyce Award Winners:

Nancy García Loza | National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) | Chicago, IL
Nancy García Loza's Pénjamo: A Pocha Road Trip Story explores bicultural identity and the myths and realities of ancestral homelands. The project launches this summer with a research visit to García Loza's hometown of San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico. From there, García Loza will draft a play based on her research and experiences, collaborating with NMMA to create public workshops engaging immigrant communities and communities of color in Chicago to inform her work. Community-based events will include curated conversations with local immigrant artists and artist-led workshops for aspiring playwrights of color. The project will culminate in a live public workshop reading of Pénjamo, presented at NMMA.

Nabil Ince | Harrison Center | Indianapolis, IN
Through a songwriting residency at the Harrison Center, musician and educator Nabil Ince (a.k.a. Seaux Chill) will work with residents from three historically Black Indianapolis neighborhoods, using art to combat cultural erasure and gentrification. Ince will explore underrepresented areas of Black urban cultural and commercial life, creating songs and music videos that capture the experiences of local Black business owners and patrons. The project aims to build an understanding of the cross-cultural currents of the three neighborhoods, facilitate collective exploration of the social and political power of art, and foster Black community pride through the preservation and amplification of local culture and history.

Michael Manson | Living Arts | Detroit, MI
Michael Manson's Rhythm of the Feet is a new, concert-length dance production centering Detroit Jit, a legendary 1970s street dance style. Facilitated by Living Arts, Manson will work closely with Detroit's Black and Latinx communities, offering free family-oriented workshops and events, which will situate Jit in historical context alongside other styles like tap, Chicago footwork, House, Memphis Jookin, and Lindy Hop. The project aims to make Jit accessible to broader audiences, regardless of background, ability, or age. The project will result in a fully staged production of Rhythm of the Feet in Detroit, illuminating the past and future of Jit.

Aram Han Sifuentes | HANA Center | Chicago, IL
Aram Han Sifuentes' Citizenship for All: Storytelling for Immigrant Justice through NongGi Making will engage multiple generations of Asian and multi-ethnic communities in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood through collective storytelling and artistic co-creation. Sifuentes will lead biweekly public workshops on topics including the history of traditional Korean NongGi flags, the art and power of storytelling, and a hands-on exploration of textile techniques. Participants will learn to sew, embroider, and create protest banners modeled on traditional NongGis that integrate their own stories into the design. Through this exchange of personal stories, the completed banners will serve as a powerful collective statement of community solidarity and pride. The banners will be displayed as rotating public art installations at HANA Center and other local community organizations. Additionally, Sifuentes will create a monumental NongGi inspired by designs created by community members which will be exhibited on the façade of the HANA center.

Pramila Vasudevan | Public Art Saint Paul | Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN
Prairie/Concrete imagines new pathways for communities to connect with each other and with the natural world through a series of workshops and events centered around the land and ecosystem. Taking place on Dakota land in three Saint Paul public parks, the events will explore pressing ecological and societal issues facing the city. Led by transdisciplinary artist Pramila Vasudevan and presented by Public Art Saint Paul, the project will include improvised and choreographed dance and movement-making, discussions, and activities bringing together local artists, gardeners, and other community members, particularly those who identify as people of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and/or other underrepresented identities. Events will be presented as part of the inaugural Twin Cities Triennial Art Festival in Summer 2023.

"The 2022 Joyce Awards support interactive and collaborative projects spanning a broad range of creative media and artists who are inspired community leaders in our region," said Mia Khimm, Culture Program Director. "This year's wide range of projects and artists uplift immigrant voices and experiences, bring past cultural forms and traditions into the present, and strengthen community pride across the Great Lakes."

The 2022 Joyce Awardees were selected by an external jury comprised of a range of arts professionals including:

• C. Ondine Chavoya, Professor of Art History and Latinx Studies, Williams College
• Sandra Delgado, Writer, actor, singer, and producer; 2015 Joyce Awards Recipient with Teatro Vista
• Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Poet, dancer, playwright, actor; Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at the Kennedy Center; 2008 Joyce Awards Recipient with Walker Art Center
• Andrea Louie, Board Member, New Yorkers for Culture & Arts
• Shaunda McDill, Program Officer, Arts & Culture, The Heinz Endowments
• Sheetal Prajapati, Principal, Lohar Projects & Executive Director, Common Field

The Joyce Awards has helped advance the careers of emerging and mid-career artists of color working across disciplines. Past recipients include Kyle Abraham, Terence Blanchard, Sanford Biggers, Camille A. Brown, Nick Cave, Theaster Gates, Seitu Jones, Bill T. Jones, Kaneza Schaal, Julie Mehretu, Aparna Ramaswamy, Rosy Simas, and Nari Ward. 2021 recipients were Sydney Chatman/Congo Square Theatre (Chicago), Daniel Minter/Lynden Sculpture Garden (Milwaukee), Kameelah Janan Rasheed/FRONT International (Cleveland), and SANTIAGO X/Chicago Public Art Group (Chicago).

The application process for the 2023 Joyce Awards will open on July 5, 2022, with letters of inquiry due September 12, 2022, and online registration for new applicants due September 7, 2022. Potential applicants can learn more and apply by visiting the Joyce Foundation web site https://www.joycefdn.org, or by contacting joyceawards@joycefdn.org. There will be a virtual Information Session on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 at noon CST that will offer guidance on the application process.

The Joyce Foundation is a nonpartisan private foundation that invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. Joyce supports policy research, development, and advocacy in the six program areas: Culture, Democracy, Education & Economic Mobility, Environment, Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform, and Journalism. For more information about the Joyce Foundation, please visit www.joycefdn.org.