Wendy Red Star, M.F.A. '06

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Wendy Red Star, M.F.A. '06, has been awarded a "genius grant" by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as a 2024 MacArthur Fellow.

The Fellowship is awarded to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits. Fellows receive $800,000 stipends that are bestowed with no conditions; recipients may use the money as they see fit. Nominated anonymously by leaders in their respective fields and considered by an anonymous selection committee, recipients learn of their selection only when they receive a call from the MacArthur Foundation just before the public announcement.

In addition to recognizing and supporting exceptional creativity, the Foundation hopes that the Fellowship will inspire people to pursue their own creative interests.

Red Star is a visual artist engaging with archival materials in works that challenge colonial historical narratives. Across her multidisciplinary practice, Red Star references and reworks objects from museum collections, government archives, and her own family’s history. She highlights the resilience and strength of her Apsáalooke/Crow heritage, offering a grounded perspective that challenges misconceptions and oversimplified portrayals.

Red Star received a B.F.A. from Montana State University in 2004 before earning her M.F.A. at UCLA. She has served as a visiting lecturer at Yale University, the Banff Center, National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and California Institute of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at such venues as the Brooklyn Museum, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris, France, the Portland Art Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the UCLA Newsroom article here.