To extend the reach of new ideas and creative thinking, the MacArthur Fellows Program makes a handful of small grants to organizations each year to support public-facing programming featuring two or more Fellows.
The programming—including panels, performances, and conversations—originates with the MacArthur Fellows and is hosted and curated by independent, nonprofits in partnership with participating Fellows. The initiative provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary engagement, which can lead to new collaborations and provide fresh inspiration and approaches for addressing real world problems, while simultaneously exposing the public to the work of MacArthur Fellows. Learn more about applying for event funding.
We invite you to discover new work and exciting possibilities through your participation in an event.
Friday, March 22
12:00 p.m. ET
Location
Big Ears Festival, Regas Square Events
333 Depot Avenue, Knoxville, TN
A conversation between MacArthur Fellows, jazz cellist and composer Tomeka Reid ‘22 and electronic music composer and performer Ikue Mori ‘22 as part of the 2024 Big Ears Festival. NPR music critic Ann Powers will moderate.
Thursday, March 28
6:00-8:00 p.m. ET
Location
Smith College, Northampton, MA
A public-facing panel during Women’s History Month featuring MacArthur Fellows Loretta Ross ‘22, Rosalind Petchesky ‘95, and Byllye Avery ’89, alongside Amy Hegstrom Miller, Regina Davis Moss and moderated by Marlene Gerber Fried. This event is part of Smith College’s new Human Rights Initiative to advance critical knowledge and practice of human rights, prepare students to lead in a globally interconnected world, and raise public awareness of highly contested issues in the United States through the human rights lens.
Monday, April 8
6:00-7:30 p.m. CT
Location
Columbia College Chicago—Ferguson Lecture Hall
600 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
Student mentoring, an exhibition, and a public conversation with photographers MacArthur Fellows Wendy Ewald ’92 and Susan Meiselas ’92. The free public talk will be followed by a book signing and exhibition reception from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the Community Engagement Hub at Columbia College Chicago. Collaboration: A Potential History of Photography is a groundbreaking publication by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Wendy Ewald, Susan Meiselas, Leigh Raiford, and Laura Wexler, that uses the lens of collaboration to challenge dominant narratives around photographic history and authorship. The exhibition Collaboration is curated by Columbia College Chicago Photo Social Practice students under the mentorship of Ewald and Meiselas in response to the new publication.
Friday, May 10
Location
Arizona State University, Los Angeles Campus
“Chance to Come Home,” an in-person and live-streamed event that intertwines the personal narratives of deported individuals and their families with insights from legal and policy experts, incudes the screening of a short film produced by MacArthur Fellow Alex Rivera ‘21 that profiles several people who seek to return home to the U.S. after having been deported and expert commentary from Fellow Ahilan Arulanantham ‘16 to contextualize the experiences of deported people and their family members in relation to current immigration law. The “Chance to Come Home” initiative seeks to end unjust deportations and reunite families and communities facing the brunt of the injustices endemic to the U.S. immigration system.
Saturday, May 18
2:00 p.m. ET
Location
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium
The International Contemporary Ensemble and Ensemble Either/Or, both at the forefront of contemporary and experimental music over the past twenty years, co-present a program of works by legendary Society of Black Composers co-founder Talib Rasul Hakim. MacArthur Fellows Tyshawn Sorey ‘17, Courtney Bryan ‘23, and George Lewis ‘02 (ICE Artistic Director) will discuss the music and legacy of Talib Rasul Hakim and the Society of Black Composers following the performance.
Tuesday, June 11
5:00–7:00 p.m. CDT
Location
Marriott Marquis Chicago
2121 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL
A film screening and panel discussion featuring insights from formerly deported veterans and their attorneys, along with perspectives from two MacArthur Fellows working in immigration and repatriation movements, Margaret Stock ‘13 and Alex Rivera ‘21. The event, coordinated by Immigrant Defenders Law Center, will highlight success stories in repatriating over 100 deported veterans, the restoration of immigration status through the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative, and the impact of legal assistance.
Sunday, June 16
Saturday, June 22
and other date TBD
Immediately following each 2:00 p.m. performance
Location
WAREHOUSE at Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
Los Angeles, California
The Comet / Poppea brings together seemingly disparate worlds connected by stories of cultural transformation. The work juxtaposes Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), an Italian opera from 1643 unfolding among the social divisions of ancient Rome; and the world premiere of The Comet, based on the 1924 science fiction short story by sociologist and Pan-Africanist/civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois. Set in 1920s New York City, “The Comet” depicts a Black man and white woman as the only survivors after a comet hits Earth.
The June 16th conversation will feature MacArthur Fellows Yuval Sharon ’17 (director) and George Lewis ‘02 (composer), and along with librettist Douglas Kearney and performer/producer Anthony Roth Costanzo on the themes and development of The Comet / Poppea. The June 22nd conversation includes Sharon and curator of public curiosity and cultural interlocutor Paul Holdengräber on The Comet / Poppea and Sharon’s forthcoming book, A New Philosophy of Opera. The third conversation, featuring MacArthur Fellows Mimi Lien ’15 (scenic designer) and Sharon, along with sound designer Mark Grey and others on the creative team (date pending).
Applying for Event Funding
The Fellows Program makes grants to qualifying organizations seeking to host public events that feature MacArthur Fellows.
Eligible events:
- Are free and open to the public
- Involve two or more Fellows in different fields or who work toward a shared goal (e.g., climate change, the changing nature of work, elevating the contributions of disabled women, etc.).
- Are hosted by 501(c)(3) organizations or non-U.S. equivalents
These events are often initiated by the Fellows and can take many forms, including talks, panels, performances, or exhibitions. The Fellows Program does not and cannot program events or suggest speakers for events. Proposed events can be in-person (as conditions allow), virtual, or a hybrid.
Organizations eligible for grant support must apply with the assent and commitment to participate from the MacArthur Fellows and must be able to exercise supervision, direction, and control over the use of any grant funds.
Contact us if you represent a qualifying organization and would like to learn more.