The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation has announced the selection of 24 individuals in this year’s class of MacArthur Fellows. The honors, frequently referred to as the “Genius Awards,” include a $625,000 stipend over the next five years which the individuals can use as they see fit. The $125,000 per year award is an increase from the $100,000 annual stipend that has been given in past years.
Of the 24 MacArthur Fellows in this year’s class, three are African Americans.
Kyle Abraham is a dancer and choreographer and is the founder of Kyle Abraham/Abraham.in.Motion in New York City. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Purchase and a master of fine arts degree from New York University.
Tarell Alvin McCraney is a playwright and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. He has served as an international writer-in-residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company and was a Hodder Fellow at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. McCraney is a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago and holds a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Carrie Mae Weems is a photographer and video artist based in Syracuse, New York. Her works have been exhibited at some of the premier art museums in the United States. Weems is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts and holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of California at San Diego.
