Rina Foygel Barber (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Rina Foygel Barber, 40, was announced as one of the newest members of the “genius grant” fellowship, which provides recipients with a $800,000 no-strings-attached award over five years to spend however they want.

(WTTW News)
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Reuben Jonathan Miller, a sociologist, criminologist and social worker, whose work studies the long-term impacts of incarceration on individuals and their families, was awarded a MacArthur fellowship. 

Amanda Williams appears on "Chicago Tonight" on Oct. 13, 2022. (WTTW News)

Three Chicago residents were among the group honored this year. One of those honorees is Amanda Williams, an artist who uses color and architecture to explore issues of race and the built environment. 

This 2022 photo provided by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation shows J. Drew Lanham, Ornithologist, Naturalist, and Writer, 2022 MacArthur Fellow, in Clemson, S.C. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the winners of their prestigious fellowships known as “genius grants” on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation via AP)
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The Chicago-based foundation announced Wednesday that it increased the “no strings attached” award amount each honoree receives from $625,000 to $800,000 over five years. Fellows do not need to report back to the foundation about how they spend the money.

Jacqueline Stewart is a film scholar, archivist and curator who has been honored by the MacArthur Foundation for “ensuring that the contributions of overlooked Black filmmakers and communities of spectators have a place in the public imagination.” 

In this photo provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Desmond Meade poses for a portrait Monday, Sept. 13, 2021 at the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s headquarters in Orlando, Fla. (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation via AP)

A historian devoted to keeping alive the stories of long-dead victims of racial violence along the Texas-Mexico border and a civil rights activist whose mission is to make sure people who leave prison are free to walk into the voting booth are among this year’s MacArthur fellows.

In this undated photo provided by the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers poses for a photo in Montgomery, Ala. (John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation via AP)

Writers, sociologists, scientists, a documentary filmmaker, a legal scholar and an environmental health advocate are among the luminaries named this year. The Chicago-based foundation has awarded the grants every year since 1981.

Emmanuel Pratt (Courtesy MacArthur Foundation)

Emmanuel Pratt will use a South Side community farm he developed as a “living laboratory” to teach students about contemporary sustainability initiatives. 

Lynda Barry and Emmanuel Pratt (Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

An urban designer from Chicago and one of the city’s longtime illustrators are among the 2019 MacArthur fellows and recipients of the prestigious “genius grant.” 

Rebecca Sandefur (Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Sociologist Rebecca Sandefur has received the prestigious award for her research on the hurdles low-income communities face when seeking civil justice. She joins us in discussion.

Rami Nashashibi

Two of the 24 professionals named 2017 MacArthur Foundation fellows are from Chicago. We speak with Dawoud Bey and Rami Nashashibi.

MacArthur fellows Juan Salgado, LaToya Ruby Frazier and John Novembre. Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

We meet photographer and video artist LaToya Ruby Frazier and Juan Salgado, president and CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino.

The MacArthur Foundation recently announced their 21 Genius grants winners, and five have Chicago connections. We sit down with two of  the winners to learn more about their work and their reactions to the $625,000 award. 

Tarell Alvin McCraney, an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre, was the recipient of a $625,000 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation this year. We revisit our conversation with him. Read an interview.

Tarell Alvin McCraney, an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre, was the recipient of a $625,000 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation this year. He joins us. Read an interview.

MacArthur Genius fellow, Dylan C. Penningroth, Associate Professor at Northwestern University and research professor for the American Bar Foundation, talks about getting the grant of a lifetime and how it will impact his research of African American life under and after slavery.