2026 Doris Duke Artist Awards

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Creative labor, creative conditions

On May 1, 2026, the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) announced the new six recipients of the Doris Duke Artist Awards – the largest prize in the United States that is dedicated to individual performing artists.

2026 Doris Duke Artist Awardees

Aleshea Harris

Theater

Tomeka Reid

Jazz

Yara Travieso

Theater

Makaya McCraven

Jazz

Val Jeanty (Val-Inc)

Jazz

Allison Orr

Dance

“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.”

Learn more about the award