Congratulations to drummer, producer, and sonic collagist Makaya McCraven, who is among this year's Doris Duke Artist Awards honorees. "A leading voice in contemporary jazz," says the Doris Duke Foundation citation, "he is acclaimed for transforming live improvisations into meticulously edited soundscapes that push the boundaries of the genre." McCraven and his fellow honorees—playwright, screenwriter, and director Aleshea Harris, choreographer Allison Orr, cellist/composer Tomeka Reid, and multimedia artist Yara Travieso—each receive an unrestricted award of $525,000 along with up to $25,000 in retirement savings support. Beyond the award, recipients gain access to ongoing resources including professional development, financial planning, and a network designed to support sustained creative work.

“When we provide artists with access to unrestricted financial resources, we break down the barriers that hold the artist community back from being truly free to create, experiment, and move society forward,” said Ashley Ferro-Murray, PhD, program director for the arts at DDF. “The Doris Duke Artist Awards program is more than an award—it is the realization of our commitment to the essential investments our society must make in sustaining, cultivating and celebrating creative labor as a necessary pillar of our communities and country.”

In celebration of the Foundation’s longstanding commitment to supporting artists’ labor and working conditions, DDF also awarded more than $1 million in grants to six organizations working to build a more sustainable and equitable ecosystem for artists: Artist Corporations Foundation, Artistic Freedom Initiative, Pollinator, SOZO Impact, Starfish Accelerator Foundation, and Pangea World Theater.

“At the Doris Duke Foundation, we honor the dignity of artists as workers. For too long, our society has treated the performing arts as a luxury rather than a labor force. With this new round of grants, the Doris Duke Foundation is doubling down on our commitment to systemic change,” said Sam Gill, CEO of the Doris Duke Foundation. “By partnering with organizations like the Artist Corporations Foundation and Starfish Accelerator, we are moving beyond traditional philanthropy to help build a permanent, protected infrastructure for the creative workforce."

For more information about all of the above, visit www.dorisduke.org/programs/arts.