Four Artists Win MacArthur “Genius” Grants
Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez, and Chip Thomas are among the 20 recipients of the $800,000 prize.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2026 MacArthur Fellowship recipients, including four visual artists. The foundation's annual "Genius" Grants award $800,000 to exceptional artists over a five-year period. Each recipient was nominated by external parties and selected by an independent committee.
Christine Sun Kim, a Berlin-based artist, uses her work to explore the political dimensions of communication. As a Deaf artist, she often bridges American Sign Language and American English, as demonstrated in her 2020 video "Palm Reader."
Los Angeles-based Rodney McMillian creates art from secondhand quilts, thrifted items, and other found objects. His 2026 exhibition "A Son of the Soil" examines the American South and its racial and socioeconomic issues.
Houston-based Vincent Valdez merges Chicano art traditions with narrative painting to confront injustice and stereotypes. His large-scale works often depict empathetic portrayals of his subjects.
Chip Thomas, a former primary care physician for the Navajo Nation, combines art and community engagement through murals, black-and-white photography, and the Painted Desert Project.
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