Nigerian Artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby Receives a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant

Visual artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby was recently selected to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

Akunyili, who hails from Nigeria, was awarded $625,000 via what is known as the MacArthur “genius” grant. She is unrestricted in what she chooses to use it for.

The fellowships, which were awarded to 24 scholars this year, are given to “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.”

The foundation announced the news on Instagram earlier this month.

Crosby, 34, said she hopes to share her unique experiences through her art.

“I use my work to explore the spaces where disparate cultures overlap, really mining my story or my history as someone who grew up in a very small town, moved to a big city in Nigeria, and then eventually moved to the United States and really thinking of people who inhabit spaces like that,” she said in a video published by the MacArthur Foundation.

The grant is disbursed over a five-year period.

Congrats to Ms. Crosby!

Click here to watch the video of Crosby discussing her work as a visual artist and its impact on the world.