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The MacArthur Foundation named visual artists Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas among its 20 2026 fellows on September 29. Each fellow will receive an unrestricted $800,000 award in quarterly installments over five years.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named visual artists Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas among its 20 2026 MacArthur Fellows on September 29. Each recipient will receive an unrestricted $800,000 fellowship, paid in quarterly installments over five years, making this year’s awards significant support for artists and other people working across a range of fields.
The fellowship is often called a “genius grant,” but the Foundation describes it as a no-strings-attached award for people showing exceptional creativity and the potential for further work. Recipients are nominated by external parties and selected by an independent committee, according to the Foundation.
The four artists work in different forms and settings. Berlin-based Christine Sun Kim, a Deaf sound artist, examines communication through multimedia work, including performances, murals and billboards. Her 2020 video “Palm Reader” animates American Sign Language signs for words such as “state” and “rule,” connecting language with authority.
Los Angeles-based Rodney McMillian uses materials including secondhand quilts and household objects in work addressing the American South, race and socioeconomic injustice. Houston-based Vincent Valdez combines Chicano art traditions with large-scale narrative painting. Chip Thomas, a physician who retired in 2023, has worked with Diné people on murals and photography on Navajo Nation land, and founded the Painted Desert Project to connect public artists with local communities.
A Five-Year Award for Creative Work
The award provides each fellow with $800,000 over five years without restrictions on how the money is used, according to the Foundation. That structure gives recipients financial support while leaving them discretion over their work. The four artists’ inclusion also places visual art alongside disciplines such as writing, choreography, music, research and public health in the same fellowship class.
The artists’ practices address subjects including language, racial and economic inequity, identity and community collaboration. Those descriptions reflect the report’s account of their work; the Foundation’s announcement recognizes the fellows but does not prescribe a specific use for the award.
How the Fellowship Is Selected
The MacArthur Fellowship program began in 1981. The Foundation says it has awarded 1,195 fellowships since then across fields including art history, visual culture, writing, health policy, anthropological research, musical performance and entrepreneurship.
The 2026 class includes 20 recipients. Alongside the four artists named here are poet Layli Long Soldier, fiction writer Bryan Washington, dancer and choreographer Trajal Harrell, and saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins. The full class also includes Holly Jean Buck, Felipe De Brigard, Ellora Derenoncourt, Elizabeth Ellis, Kaiyu Guan, Song Lin, Maaza Mengiste, Ariel Ron, Kate Spradley, Vincenzo Vitelli and Liangfang Zhang.
““who show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future.””
— John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Award Plans Remain Unspecified
The announcement and report do not say how the four artists plan to use their awards, or whether any of them have specific projects planned as a result. The fellowships are described as unrestricted, so the recipients are not required to follow a stated project plan. The reported information also does not include comments from the artists about the awards.
Five Years of Quarterly Payments
Each fellow is set to receive the award in quarterly installments over five years. The Foundation’s announcement does not specify payment start dates or provide a schedule for individual recipients. No further fellowship-related milestones were given in the report.
Key Questions
Which four visual artists received 2026 MacArthur Fellowships?
Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas are among the 20 fellows named by the Foundation.
How much is the MacArthur Fellowship?
Each fellow receives an unrestricted $800,000 award paid in quarterly installments over five years.
How are MacArthur Fellows selected?
The Foundation says fellows are nominated by external parties and selected by an independent committee.
What is the Painted Desert Project?
Founded by Chip Thomas, the project connected public artists with local communities through mural contributions from 2012 to 2022.
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