Four arts groups in New York, San Antonio, San Francisco and Washington received grants totaling $9 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Associated Press reports.

The grants are designated for operations and to fund performing artists, the AP reports.

The awards:

• $3 million to the Washington-based Association of Performing Artists for national artists-in-residence programs and for planning
• $2.5 million to New York-based Dance Theater Workshop for a new theater and to fund the group's performance schedule for three years
• $2 million to the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco for the center's residency program and its endowment.
• $1.5 million to San Antonio's Carver Community Cultural Center. One-third of the grant will go to theater renovations, with the remaining $1 million designated as a challenge grant for the Carver's endowment.

The Duke Foundation was established in 1997 by the estate of Doris Duke. It supports performing arts, environmental causes and medical research and has more than $1.4 billion in assets.

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archive/1998/12/12/national2101EST0701.DTL