Marcus Gardley and Lauren Yee Win 2019 Doris Duke Artist Awards

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) announced today the names of the 2019 Doris Duke Artists, each receiving an award of $275,000 intended as an investment in and celebration of these artists' ongoing contributions to the fields of contemporary dance, jazz and theater. A total of $250,000 of the prize is completely unrestricted, and $25,000 is dedicated to encouraging savings for retirement or later life needs.

This year's Doris Duke Artists receiving the award for their work in theater are Marcus Gardley and Lauren Yee. Additionally, Donald Byrd and Michelle Ellsworth received awards for what they bring to the dance field, and Terri Lyne Carrington and George Lewis received awards in recognition of their excellence in jazz. With the 2019 awards, DDCF has awarded more than $9.6 million to 35 artists in the theater field since 2012.

"We could not be more excited to share the names of the 2019 Doris Duke Artists," said Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. "They have earned this recognition through an incredibly rigorous nomination and review process conducted by a body of their peers. The work of these six artists has inspired creativity, new ideas and awe across the arts sector and beyond. With the money from this award, they will be able to invest in their own well-being in ways that create the right conditions for them to continue to flourish and do their best work."

"This award is a massive gift," said Gardley. "It means that my work is having an impact nationally, and that means more to me than even the money. After the initial shock and then joy of learning I had received the award came an overwhelming sense of responsibility. Now, I have the opportunity to dig, to really take time to write more epic plays, to see past the margins - to depict more characters and voices that are rarely seen."

"I am at my best when I create work that builds community and amplifies unexpected and emotionally resonant messages in ways that only I can employ," said Yee. "Since having my first child in December, I've been slowly figuring out what it means to be a parent in an industry that is frequently at odds with the demands of parenthood. This award means that I have the financial security to take care of my daughter and provide for her future while also doing the deep dreaming that art requires and planting the seeds for the next stage of my career."

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation designed the Doris Duke Artist Awards to invest in exemplary individual artists in contemporary dance, jazz and theater work who have demonstrated their artistic vitality and ongoing commitment to their field. The award is not a lifetime achievement award. Rather, it is a deep investment in the creative potential of dedicated artists. The foundation aims to empower Doris Duke Artists through the freedom of unrestricted support to take creative risks, explore new ideas, and pay for important professional and personal needs not typically funded by the project-related grants that dominate arts funding. While the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation initially conceived the Doris Duke Artists Awards as part of a larger $50 million special initiative that finished in 2017, recognition of the program's importance in helping artists thrive spurred the foundation to cement a place for the flexible awards in its core strategy to support the arts. With the 2019 class, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation will have awarded nearly $31.3 million to 114 noteworthy artists through the Doris Duke Artist Awards since May 2012. To read more about the Doris Duke Artist Awards and the 2019 Doris Duke Artists, visit www.dorisdukeartistawards.org.