The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has announced four recipients of the 2005 Joyce Awards, an annual competition to support mainstream Midwest cultural organizations that commission works by artists of color.

Grants of $50,000 were awarded to the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis for a play by playwright/performer Will Power; the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago for a work by choreographer Lin Hwai-min and the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan; the University of Illinois at Chicago's Gallery 400 for a short film by artist Edgar Arceneaux; and Detroit's Sphinx Organization for a concerto by composer Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork.

First awarded in 2004, the Joyce Awards target cultural organizations in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Paul/Minneapolis whose primary mission is to present art through public programs. While the foundation has long provided major funding to Chicago-area cultural institutions, the awards marked the expansion of its cultural grantmaking to institutions throughout the Midwest.

"The Joyce Awards advance the foundation's continued interest in encouraging arts groups to develop programming that relates to and reflects the experiences of diverse audiences," said foundation president Ellen Alberding. "We were impressed by the quality of the entries, and hope these partnerships produce important works of art, strengthen the institutions, and draw people of all backgrounds to experience and celebrate the arts."