Musician Rhiannon Giddens was one of 24 to win a 2017 MacArthur grant.
(Image credit: Youtube/TED)

One is an artist and geographer who has photographed some of the most top-secret locations on Earth. Another is a psychologist who explored if a radio soap opera could reduce prejudice in Rwanda. Yet another had planned to be a concert pianist before turning to science to understand how antibodies become more effective at fighting off pathogens. Together, they compose three of the 24 MacArthur fellows for 2017, a group of "exceptionally creative people" who have been awarded a no-strings-attached grant of $625,000, doled out over the next five years, to do with as they see fit.

"I had fantasized about that moment ever since I knew it existed," one of the recipients, Rhiannon Giddens, told The New York Times of winning the grant. Giddens' accomplishments include being the first woman and nonwhite banjoist to win a major prize.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.