The MacArthur Foundation has named 20 Fellows for 2026, including visual artists Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas, choreographer and dancer Trajal Harrell, and musician and composer Immanuel Wilkins. Each recipient will receive an unrestricted $800,000 grant distributed over five years.
Key Takeaways
- The MacArthur Foundation named 20 Fellows in its 2026 class
- Creative recipients work across visual art, dance, music, poetry and other disciplines
- Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas are among the artists recognized
- Trajal Harrell was named a Fellow for his work in choreography and dance
- Immanuel Wilkins was recognized for music and composition, while each Fellow receives $800,000 in unrestricted support over five years
MacArthur Foundation Names 20 Fellows for 2026
The 2026 MacArthur Fellows class includes 20 recipients working across creative, scholarly and scientific disciplines. Artists, writers, musicians and performers appear alongside researchers and other practitioners whose work spans a broad range of fields.
Among the creative recipients are Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas. Their practices encompass visual, conceptual, public and multidisciplinary art.
Trajal Harrell represents choreography and dance in the 2026 class, while Immanuel Wilkins represents music and composition. Poetry and fiction are also represented among this year’s Fellows.
Each recipient receives an unrestricted $800,000 fellowship distributed over five years. The award is not tied to a particular project, giving Fellows flexibility in how they use the funding.
Visual Artists Join the 2026 MacArthur Fellows
Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas are among the visual artists selected for the 2026 class.
Kim’s work explores sound, language and communication through visual and conceptual forms. McMillian works across media including painting, sculpture, installation, video and performance, while Valdez uses visual art to examine historical and contemporary American experiences. Thomas is known for public art grounded in community histories.
Their selection reflects the range of approaches found across contemporary art, where multidisciplinary artistic practice can bring together painting, photography, sculpture, performance, sound and digital media.
The four artists also demonstrate how the fellowship reaches across different forms of visual practice. Their work ranges from gallery-based and conceptual projects to large-scale public art and community-centered installations.
Each receives the same unrestricted $800,000 award provided to the full class, allowing the financial support to be used without a project-specific requirement.
Dance and Choreography Represented by Trajal Harrell
Trajal Harrell is among the performing artists named to the 2026 MacArthur Fellows class. His work as a choreographer and dancer adds movement-based performance to a group that also includes visual artists, musicians and writers.
Harrell’s selection places choreography within the fellowship’s broader recognition of creative practice across disciplines. Dance joins visual art, music, poetry and fiction among the artistic fields represented in the 2026 class.
His recognition also reflects the continuing range of contemporary dance practice, where choreography can move between live performance, film, movement research and other forms of presentation.
Harrell receives the same five-year, unrestricted fellowship as the other 19 recipients. The structure allows Fellows across artistic and academic disciplines to determine independently how the funding supports their work.
The inclusion of choreography reinforces the multidisciplinary character of the 2026 class, with creative practices represented alongside research and scholarship.
Immanuel Wilkins Receives MacArthur Fellowship for Music
Immanuel Wilkins is the musician and composer included among the 2026 Fellows, bringing music into the creative disciplines represented by this year’s class.
Wilkins joins visual artists, a choreographer, poets and writers among the recipients working primarily in creative fields. His selection gives music and composition a distinct place within the 20-member group.
The fellowship recognizes individuals across disciplines rather than organizing recipients around a single type of artistic or scholarly work. The 2026 class consequently brings music into a broader group spanning the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences.
Wilkins will receive the same unrestricted $800,000 grant awarded to every Fellow, distributed over the program’s five-year period.
Fellows Receive $800,000 in Unrestricted Support
Each of the 20 MacArthur Fellows selected for 2026 will receive an unrestricted $800,000 award over five years.
Unlike project-based grants, the fellowship does not require recipients to direct the money toward a predetermined body of work. Fellows have discretion over how the funding is used during the award period.
For this year’s creative recipients, the support accompanies work across visual art, choreography, music, poetry and fiction. Kim, McMillian, Valdez, Thomas, Harrell and Wilkins are among the artists and performers represented in the wider class.
The 20 Fellows collectively demonstrate the breadth of disciplines recognized through the program, bringing creative practices together with scholarship, science and other areas of research.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the 2026 MacArthur Fellows?
The MacArthur Foundation named 20 Fellows for 2026. Creative recipients include Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez, Chip Thomas, Trajal Harrell and Immanuel Wilkins, alongside writers, researchers and practitioners in other disciplines.
Which artists were named 2026 MacArthur Fellows?
Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas are among the visual artists recognized in the 2026 class. Trajal Harrell and Immanuel Wilkins are also among the creative recipients.
How much money does each 2026 MacArthur Fellow receive?
Each Fellow receives an unrestricted $800,000 award distributed over five years. The funding is not tied to a specific project.
Which musicians and choreographers received the 2026 MacArthur Fellowship?
Immanuel Wilkins was recognized for music and composition, while Trajal Harrell was selected for his work as a choreographer and dancer.
What disciplines are represented among the 2026 MacArthur Fellows?
The 2026 class spans creative, scholarly and scientific disciplines. Artistic fields represented include visual art, dance, music, poetry and fiction.
