The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has announced the winners of the 2014 Joyce Awards, which support collaborations between artists of color and nonprofit arts groups in major Midwestern cities.

Grants of $50,000 each were awarded to Camille A. Brown, who will collaborate with DANCECleveland to create "Black Girl," a dance and music composition that depicts the challenges faced by African-American women and girls trying to carve out a positive identity in urban American culture; Lynn Nottage, who will work with the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to stage a premiere production of Reading Play, a play she wrote after interviewing people in Reading, Pennsylvania, named the poorest city in America in 2011; Jessie Montgomery, who will collaborate with Detroit's Sphinx Organization to compose, produce, and a tribute marking the bicentennial of the "Star Spangled Banner"; and Tracey Scott Wilson, who will collaborate with the Pillsbury House Theatre in Minneapolis on Prep, a play about a group of teachers who change their students' test scores in order to receive a yearly bonus.

"Throughout the Joyce Awards' eleven years, we have been so proud to support over thirty-five community-oriented arts projects to diversify and engage audiences and artists," said Joyce Foundation president Ellen Alberding. "This year's endeavors bring strong voices to the table and showcase the incredible artistic talent of these four women, and we're excited to be part of the process."