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The Vanguard Residency is an award and yearlong residency that celebrates the career of a singular artist who has contributed to American life and pop culture and is a part of the Joe’s Pub family of artists. This artist also sustains and leads their own artistic community while creating a body of work that stands apart from their peers. Additionally, the award answers to the music industry’s widening gaps in funding.
The 2024-2025 Joe’s Pub Vanguard artist is Margaret Cho. Cho is being honored for both her groundbreaking career as a comedian, actor, and musician and for her unwavering dedication to anti-racism, anti-bullying, and gay rights activism.
Performances Curated by Margaret Cho
October 25, 2024 | Charlene Kaye: Tiger Daughter — or How I Brought My Immigrant Mother Ultimate Shame
January 24 & 25, 2025 | Margaret's Children feat. Nori Reed, Robin Tran, and Sabrina Wu
January 31, 2025 | Margaret's Gay Sons feat. Sam Oh and Dylan Adler
March 11 | Dopey Podcast Live!
April 4 | Youngmi Mayer
Photo credit: Kevin Yatarola
Comedian. Actor. Musician. Advocate. Entrepreneur. Five-time Grammy and Emmy nominee. Margaret Cho staunchly supports the causes that are important to her: anti-racism, anti-bullying, gay rights, all while fulfilling her successful creative side with a legendary stand up career that has yielded 12-plus comedy tours and seminal and critically-acclaimed appearances on film and television.
Today Cho, who Vogue magazine named one of the 9 best female comedians of all time alongside Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, and Wanda Sykes, continues to share stories via multiple scripted shows in development for 2024 and beyond, with her production company Animal Family Productions.
Photo credit: Alaric Campbell
Five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo is a creative force with sixteen albums to her name. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva”, and named her one of the most influential people in the world for 2021. As a performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. She is the recipient of the 2023-2024 Vanguard Award & Residency.
Photo credit: Alaric Campbell
Barbara Maier Gustern was a widely beloved New York-based voice teacher, producer, director, performer. Her students span a wide range of styles: from cantors to business people (interested in improving their public speaking skills), to many of the greatest talents on Broadway and in the Downtown scene. Her students included Obie winners, Tony nominees , GRAMMY nominees, Guggenheim Fellows, and more.
Illustration by Leeza Jonee
Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned and daring creative pioneers. She is best known for her multimedia presentations and innovative use of technology. As writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist, she has created groundbreaking works that span the worlds of art, theater, and experimental music. Anderson has published seven books and her visual work has been presented in major museums around the world. She was the 2020 recipient of the Joe's Pub Vanguard Award.
Photo credit: Alaric Campbell
Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century. Collins was the 2019 recipient of the Joe's Pub Vanguard Award.
Photo credit: Alaric Campbell
Grammy Award-nominated funk, art rock and new wave pioneer Nona Hendryx was the inaugural recipient of the Joe’s Pub Vanguard Award. Joe’s Pub honored her career as a performer, producer, writer, curator, innovator and mentor, with a year of monthly programming in 2018. From January through December, Hendryx curated and/or performed in shows that featured not only her body of work, but those of the many multidisciplinary artists who she has influenced (and who continue to influence her).
Photo credit: Alaric Campbell