From left, Ada Limón, Patrick Makuakane, Courtney Bryan and Jason D. Buenrostro, all winners of a 2023 MacArthur Foundation award.Credit...From left: Carla Ciuffo for The New York Times; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (3)

MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipients include a hula master and poet—all of whom get $800,000 to spend on anything they want

Fortune.com | By Thalia Beaty, AP

A scientist who studies the airborne transmission of diseases, a master hula dancer and cultural preservationist, and the sitting U.S. poet laureate were among the 20 new recipients of the prestigious fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, known as “genius grants,” announced on Wednesday.

MacArthur fellows receive a grant of $800,000 over five years to spend however they want. Fellows are nominated and endorsed by their peers and communities through an often yearslong process that the foundation oversees. They do not apply and are never officially interviewed for the fellowship before it’s awarded.

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