Twenty remarkable performing artists will each receive $275,000 in flexible, multi-year funding as an investment in and celebration of their ongoing contributions to the fields of contemporary dance, theatre and jazz. With this year’s class, the foundation will have awarded $22 million among 80 Doris Duke Artists. Since the awards program’s inception, $7.975 million of these funds have gone to 29 dance artists.
Ben Cameron, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, said, "We are tremendously proud to announce to the world the fourth class of Doris Duke Artists. This year's class is particularly notable for their collective, strong and consistent commitment to touring and working in multiple communities, enabling them to have enormous impact on artists and audiences in every corner of the country. We are thrilled to recognize the accomplishments of such an influential and talented set of artists, and to make a substantial investment in their continuing work and well-being as they forge into the future."
In 2015, seven of the total 20 Doris Duke Artists are dance artists and include:
- Camille A. Brown (New York, NY)
- Ronald K. Brown (New York, NY)
- Ann Carlson (Stanford, CA)
- Nora Chipaumire (New York, NY)
- Alonzo King (San Francisco, CA)
- Stephen Petronio (New York, NY)
- Doug Varone (New York, NY)
To see the full list of artists, read their bios and access samples of their work, visit the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards Web site.
Nora Chipaumire, a recipient of the Doris Duke Artist Award in dance, said, "I’m without words for what this recognition means to me. I’m perhaps not too singular in the way that I live from project to project to sustain me and the people who support me. That’s always been the reality of arts funding. But, I’ve always had a larger vision, and I hope this award will help me realize some of it—to extend my good fortune to others and fill a vacuum that exists for students of dance in Africa by creating a center for research."
About the Doris Duke Artist Awards
The Doris Duke Artist Awards program is one of two awards offered through the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards (DDPAA), which is part of a larger $50 million, ten-year commitment of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering flexible, multi-year funding in response to financial challenges that are specific to the performing arts and to each artist. Launched in 2011, the awards program supports individual artists in contemporary dance, theatre and jazz.
Each recipient of a Doris Duke Artist Award receives $275,000—including an unrestricted, multi-year cash grant of $225,000, plus as much as $25,000 more in targeted support for audience development and as much as $25,000 more for personal reserves or creative exploration during what are usually retirement years for most Americans. Artists are able to access their awards over a period of three to five years under a schedule set by each recipient. Creative Capital, DDCF’s primary partner in the awards, also offers the awardees the opportunity to participate in professional development activities, financial and legal counseling, and regional gatherings—all designed to help them personalize and maximize the use of their grants.