A Life in the Arts, supported at every stage.
For more than 60 years, the Masterwork Music and Art Foundation has funded new work and championed the people who make it — across music, dance, theater and the visual arts.
Three ways we fund excellence.
Every award rotates through the Foundation’s four core disciplines — music, dance, theater and the visual arts.
Premier Award
Funds a new work by an individual artist or arts organization in a different discipline each year. 2026’s awardee is Premiere Stages at Kean University.
Award history →Community Arts Grants
Supports community-level arts programming. The 2026 grantees include the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, The Masterwork Chorus, Found Sound Circle and FJK Dance.
This year’s grantees →Emerging Artist Award
Celebrates a promising young artist with a unique dedication to craft, recognized across any of the four disciplines.
About the award →A Life in the Arts
Our ongoing series celebrating people who’ve dedicated their lives to artistic pursuit. The most recent special edition features our first-ever A Life in the Arts awardee, composer and performer R. Wayne Walters, in conversation with Father Kenneth E. Lasch about Wayne’s new choral work, “Ode to the Sea.”
Recent news
A day trip to the Hudson Valley Dance Festival
Our friends at the Hudson Valley Dance Festival, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, are offering NYC-area dance lovers a day trip to the event.
Read more →A Life in the Arts: R. Wayne Walters & Fr. Kenneth E. Lasch
A special edition interview on the story behind Wayne’s new choral work, “Ode to the Sea,” with the man who inspired it.
Watch & read more →Flawless: a Premiere Stages theatrical premiere
Our friends at Premiere Stages at Kean University present Flawless, written by John Wooten — 2026’s Premier Award recipient.
Read more →100% of your gift goes to artists.
With just two part-time staff members, the Foundation keeps overhead low — every dollar you give supports a grant, an award, or a new work.