Of the 24 extraordinary people who the MacArthur Foundation just named as 2017 Fellows (commonly referred to as “Genius Grant” winners), one is a photographer. As the oldest recipient at age 64, Chicago-based photographer and educator Dawoud Bey photographs people and things that he says “might be taken for granted.”
This past week, 33-year-old Pittsburgh-based photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier was announced as one of 24 recipients of this year's MacArthur "Genius" Grant, a $625,000 no-strings-attached prize.
Frazier has spent the past 12 years documenting her small hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania, a community built on steel that's now struggling to get by. The 3-minute video above by the MacArthur Foundation is a look at Frazier's work.
Is the photo above the work of a genius? Last week, the MacArthur Foundation announced its “Genius” grants – a $500,000, five year grant with no strings attached prize – to people who “show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future.” Since 1981, 873 fellows have been named, and of those, only nine have been photographers. Two of them were awarded this year: Uta Barth and and An-My Lê.
Every year, the MacArthur Foundation selects 20-40 exceptional people in the United States and awards them with $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship "Genius Grants" -- prestigious awards that come with no strings attached. Winners are of all ages, come from all kinds of fields, and are selected purely because they "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work."
The 2012 winners were revealed today, and of the 23 people selected, two of them were photographers: Uta Barth and An-My Lê.