Profile·United States
Four Artists, Including Christine Sun Kim, Win 2026 MacArthur 'Genius' Grants
Christine Sun Kim, Rodney McMillian, Vincent Valdez and Chip Thomas have won 2026 MacArthur Fellowships, each receiving $800,000 with no strings attached. The 'genius grants' honor exceptional creativity across disciplines.

The MacArthur Foundation has named four visual artists among its 2026 fellows: Christine Sun Kim, known for her work in sound and American Sign Language; Rodney McMillian; Vincent Valdez; and Chip Thomas, the street artist and physician known as jetsonorama. Each fellow receives $800,000 paid over five years with no conditions, one of the most generous honors in American arts and letters. The fellowships recognize exceptional creativity and promise of future advances.

