7 Black creatives and scholars named among the 2026 MacArthur Fellows

The 2026 class includes artists, writers, musicians, scholars and researchers whose work explores race, history, memory, identity and community.

Seven Black creatives and scholars are among the recipients of the 2026 MacArthur Fellowships, joining a class of 20 artists, scientists and scholars selected for the foundation’s annual “genius grants.”

The Washington Post reported Tuesday on this year’s MacArthur class, which includes saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins, economist Ellora Derenoncourt, artist Rodney McMillian, choreographer Trajal Harrell, novelist Bryan Washington, novelist Maaza Mengiste and public artist Chip Thomas.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MacArthur Foundation (@macfound)

Each MacArthur Fellow will receive $800,000 in unrestricted funding, paid in quarterly installments over five years. The foundation says the fellowship is designed to give recipients the freedom to decide how to use the money in support of their work.

At 29, Wilkins is the youngest member of the 2026 class. The Philadelphia-born saxophonist and composer is based in Brooklyn and has built a body of work connecting jazz, memory, ancestry and historical experience. The MacArthur Foundation describes his work as spanning sound, performance and visual composition.

Derenoncourt, an associate professor of economics at Princeton University, studies labor markets, economic history and inequality. Her research examines the historical roots of racial disparities, including differences in earnings, economic mobility and wealth between Black and White Americans.

McMillian, a Los Angeles-based artist and UCLA professor, works across sculpture, painting, installation, video and performance. His practice examines how history, race, class and economic conditions shape belonging in the United States, particularly in the American South.

Mengiste, a fiction writer and professor at Wesleyan University, uses history, memory and imagination to explore the human costs of political violence. Her novels include “Beneath the Lion’s Gaze,” which examines Ethiopia during the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie, and “The Shadow King,” which centers women resistance fighters during Italy’s occupation of Ethiopia.

Harrell, an American dancer and choreographer based in Zürich, became internationally known for work connecting voguing with postmodern dance. His practice also draws on other dance traditions while exploring questions of history, identity and the body.

Thomas, a public artist and former physician based in Flagstaff, Arizona, creates community-centered works that engage with history, place and memory. Much of his work is made in collaboration with Diné communities on the Navajo Nation, where he has installed large-scale photographs and murals on abandoned buildings and other overlooked spaces. His work also examines the legacies of colonial violence and environmental degradation.

Washington, a novelist based in Tokyo, is known for books including “Lot,” “Memorial” and “Family Meal.” His fiction explores modern relationships, family and intimacy, with his work earning several major literary honors.

Together, the seven Black recipients represent a broad range of disciplines, from jazz and contemporary dance to economics, visual art, public art and fiction. Their inclusion in the 2026 fellowship places their individual work within this year’s wider group of 20 MacArthur Fellows.