100th Class of Guggenheim Fellows Unveiled for 2025

The Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has appointed the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows, including 198 distinguished individuals working across 53 disciplines. Chosen through a rigorous application and peer review process from a pool of nearly 3,500 applicants, the Class of 2025 Guggenheim Fellows was tapped based on both prior career achievement and exceptional promise. As established in 1925 by founder Senator Simon Guggenheim, each Fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”

The 100th class of Fellows is part of the Guggenheim Foundation's yearlong celebration marking a century of transformative impact on American intellectual and cultural life. In addition to appointing its newest class, the Foundation also launches a refreshed brand identity and website this month and will present a special exhibit later this year in collaboration with The New York Historical, highlighting rarely-seen treasures from its vast archive.

“At a time when intellectual life is under attack, the Guggenheim Fellowship celebrates a century of support for the lives and work of visionary scientists, scholars, writers, and artists,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and President of the Guggenheim Foundation. “We believe that these creative thinkers can take on the challenges we all face today and guide our society towards a better and more hopeful future.”

In all, 53 scholarly disciplines and artistic fields, 83 academic institutions, 32 US states and the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces are represented in the 2025 class, who range in age from 32 to 79. More than a third of the 100th class of Fellows do not hold a full-time affiliation with a college or university. Many Fellows' projects directly respond to timely themes and issues such as climate change, Indigenous studies, identity, democracy and politics, incarceration, and the evolving purpose of community. Since its founding in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has awarded over $400 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 Fellows.

Notable Individuals in the 2025 class of Guggenheim Fellows include:

·       Anthropology & Cultural Studies: Carolyn Moxley Rouse, Karen Strassler

·       Biology: Larisa DeSantis, Marcus Kronforst

·       Choreography: Monica Bill Barnes & Robbie Saenz de Viteri, Donald Byrd

·       Fiction: Miranda July, Nicole Krauss, Jonathan Lethem

·       Fine Arts: Theaster Gates, Raul Guerrero, Julie Tolentino

·       Music Composition: Katherine Balch, Michael Patrick Dease, Huang Ruo

·       General Nonfiction: Louis Onuorah Chude-Sokei, Sloane Crosley, Harold Holzer, Nathaniel Rich

·       Photography: Denis Defibaugh, Farah Al Qasimi

·       Poetry: Cynthia Cruz, Richie Hofmann, Brandon D. Som

The Guggenheim Foundation also celebrates its centennial with special underwritten gifts to support the advancement of projects by exceptional individuals striving for creative excellence. Generous gifts from friends and previous Fellows that help support this year's Fellows include:

·       The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation for its endowed support of a Fellowship in Constitutional Studies, awarded to Mark Aaron Graber.

·       Wendy Belzberg and Strauss Zelnick for their support of a Fellowship in General Nonfiction in honor of Stacy Schiff, Fellow 1996, awarded to Carolyn Dever.

·       Robert De Niro for his support of a Fellowship in Fine Arts in honor of Robert De Niro, Sr., Fellow 1968, awarded to Maryam Safajoo.

·       The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation for its support of a Fellowship in Indigenous Studies, awarded to Larissa FastHorse.

·       The Hocking-Cabot Fund for Systematic Philosophy for its support of a Fellowship in Philosophy, awarded to Hannah Ginsborg.

·       Jerold S. Kayden, Fellow 1989, for his support of a Fellowship in Climate Studies, awarded to Park Williams.

·       Matt Pincus and Sarah Min for their support of a Fellowship in Fiction, General Nonfiction, or Biography for a woman or person of color, awarded to Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

·       Stacy Schiff, Fellow 1996, and Marc de la Bruyère for their support of a Fellowship in Fiction, awarded to Nell Zink.

·       The Eleanor Schwartz Charitable Foundation for its support of a Fellowship in Medicine & Health, awarded to Rita Redberg.

·       The Estate of Geraldine Jonçich Clifford, Fellow 1965, for supporting a Fellowship in Education, awarded to Tracy Steffes.

·       The Estate of Richard F. Gustafson, Fellow 1988, for supporting a Fellowship in Slavic Studies, awarded to Molly Brunson.

·       The Estate of Philip Roth, Fellow 1959, for partial support of writers.

·       The Joel Conarroe Fund, Fellow 1977, for partial support of Fellows in the creative arts.

·       The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Fellow 1925 & 1926, for its support of the Fellowship program.