Three MacArthur Fellows Have Columbia Ties

October 5, 2012

Each year, the MacArthur Foundation awards a small number of $500,000 no-strings-attached grants to individuals from a variety of disciplines and fields—ranging from journalists, to photographers, to marine biologists, to musicians—who have shown "exceptional creativity" in their field and promise in their future. 

Three of this year's fellows have ties to Columbia College Chicago:

Photographers An-My Le and Uta Barth both exhibited at the college's Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP). Columbia organized and toured Le's Small Wars exhibition from 2006 through 2008 and owns a large amount of her work in the MoCP's permanent collection. Barth's exhibit, Light, Time, Focus, was shown at the MoCP in the mid-1990s. 

Claire Chase, arts entrepreneur and executive director of the International Contemporary Ensemble, was an artist in residence in the college's music department. Since 2006, the MoCP has hosed the International Contemporary Ensemble for concerts or conceptual exhibits, including a performance in conjunction with Le's Small Wars exhibition.