Dec. 14--Chicago visual artist Juan Angel Chavez and the Chicago Children's Museum will receive a 2016 Joyce Award, the Joyce Foundation announced Monday. The $50,000 awards are given to artists of color who will collaborate with nonprofit institutions to cultivate diverse audiences.
Chavez will create a large-scale public art installation at the Chicago Children's Museum set to be installed in the summer of 2017. The permanent piece will span the second floor of the museum and will grow over time with audience input gained through community forums, workshops and social media conversations.
Chavez, a Mexican-born artist, is known for temporary interactive installations and has exhibited work throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Thailand and New Zealand. His artist residencies include the Museum of Contemporary Art and Apex Art, New York. Chavez previously received the Richard H. Driehaus Individual Artist Award.
Chicago's Joyce Foundation, which calls itself the major supporter of artists of color in large Great Lakes cities, has awarded $2.6 million to commission 50 new works since the program started in 2003. The other 2016 Joyce Awards recipients include Charles McGee in collaboration with Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African History, Minneapolis-based Ragamala Dance Company with choreographers Aparna Ramaswamy and Kyle Abraham and Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Minn., with composer Imani Uzuri and playwright Zakiyyah Alexander.
