Rodney McMillian named a 2026 MacArthur Fellow
Rodney McMillian, professor in the UCLA Department of Art, was named today a 2026 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The fellowships, commonly known as “genius grants,” are given to individuals who demonstrate exceptional creativity and dedication in their fields and the prospect of innovative advances in the future. The recognition comes with a five-year, $800,000 no-strings-attached stipend.
“For 45 years, MacArthur Fellows have defied boundaries, by questioning conventions, crossing disciplines, and driving collective progress,” said Kristen Mack, a vice president at the foundation. “The 2026 Fellows continue that creative tradition—they explore the depths of our humanity; they reveal untold origins to modern challenges; they expand the edges of scientific inquiry and life-saving research. They show us new ways to understand the world.”
McMillian has taught at UCLA since 2009 and was chair of the department of art from 2023–25. As an artist, he explores how history and socioeconomic conditions determine experience and belonging in the United States, and particularly in the American South. His practice extends across media—installation, sculpture, painting, video, and performance—and he often incorporates thrifted domestic objects like blankets, sheets, carpets, old mattresses, and broken furniture into his work. His conceptual sculptures and installations gesture toward the social and policy forces that perpetuate economic marginalization.
In a recent series of works on paper featuring abstract representations of sunsets in hues of magenta, crimson, and azure, McMillian considers the history and persistent aftereffects of redlining policies in the United States. Made by pouring and pooling paint, ink, and other media onto paper, the works in this series also include quotations from published sources illuminating aspects of the history of discriminatory housing policies.
Although many are now illegal, such practices have nonetheless left their mark on American infrastructure, warping it like the twisted skeins of paint that give rise to McMillian’s sunsets. Through a complex practice that deconstructs and restages narratives of power and possibility, McMillian offers new and expansive ways of understanding the social and economic conditions that define our current moment.
To date, over 40 UCLA graduates and faculty have received MacArthur Fellowships. McMillian is the second faculty member from UCLA Arts, and the first from the department of art, to be named a MacArthur Fellow. Distinguished Professor Peter Sellars of the department of world arts and cultures/dance was recognized in 1983. Six alumni from the department of art have previously received MacArthur Fellowships: Gala Porras-Kim (2025), Wendy Red Starr (2024), Wu Tsang (2018), Uta Barth (2012), Toba Khedoori (2002), and Vija Celmins (1997).
Header image: Photo of Rodney McMillian. (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)
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