United States Artists (USA) has revealed the 50 recipients of the 2025 USA Fellows program, including artists from 10 creative disciplines, including theatre.
Launched in 2006, the USA Fellowship is United States Artists’ flagship granting program, through which it has distributed more than $41 million to more than 1,000 creative practitioners. The program honors the contributions artists make to the broader culture of the nation, as well as the specific cultures of their communities. In addition to the $50,000 cash award, fellows are given access to financial planning services and grant writing assistance over the course of the next year.
The 2025 USA Fellows for theatre and performance are: the scenic design collection dots (Andrew Moerdyk, Kimie Nishikawa, Santiago Orjuela-Laverde) from Brooklyn, NY; theatre artist Geoff Sobelle from New York, NY; playwright and filmmaker Rhiana Yazzie from Minneapolis, MN; theatre artist Rudi Goblen from Miami, FL; and writer and director Shayok Misha Chowdhury from Brooklyn, NY.
Past awardees include photographer and performance artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons (2024), choreographer and tap dancer Ayodele Casel (2023), musician and composer Laura Ortman (2022), creative composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith (2021), painter and visual artist Howardena Pindell (2020), dancer and choreographer Alice Sheppard (2019), poet Claudia Rankine (2016), potter Roberto Lugo (2016), writer Teju Cole (2015), filmmaker Barry Jenkins (2012), documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (2010), fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte (2009), multidisciplinary artist Martha Rosler (2008), and multimedia artist Paul Chan (2007).
The 2025 USA Fellowships were generously made possible by Annette and Paul Smith, Anonymous, Barr Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, David Horvitz and Francie Bishop Good, Doris Duke Foundation, Ford Foundation, Good Chaos, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Katie Weitz, PhD, Mellon Foundation, Miranda Family Fund, Opportunity Fund, Poetry Foundation, Pilot House Associates, Rasmuson Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Ford Family Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, Todd and Betiana Simon, and Windgate Charitable Foundation.
