Tuan Andrew Nguyen ’99 Named 2025 MacArthur Fellow

UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts alumnus recognized for his multidisciplinary works exploring memory, displacement and the legacies of war

Department of Art alumnus Tuan Andrew Nguyen ’99 has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The annual fellowship, often referred to as the “genius grant,” honors individuals demonstrating exceptional creativity and a strong potential for future achievements across a range of disciplines.

Nguyen is a multidisciplinary artist whose films and sculptural works give form to the lasting effects of violence, displacement and colonialism. His practice draws on the histories and personal narratives of communities grappling with the intergenerational traumas of war, from Vietnam and Senegal to Papua New Guinea and the United States. Through layered storytelling, he examines how memory and material objects can become repositories of history and tools for healing.

“We’re thrilled to see Tuan Andrew Nguyen recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship,” said Kevin Appel, chair of the Department of Art. “Tuan’s work embodies the spirit of critical imagination that defines our department, weaving together art history and activism into profoundly moving narratives. His commitment to storytelling as a form of repair and resistance has inspired so many of our students and colleagues. This recognition is deeply deserved.”

Among Nguyen’s notable works are The Island (2017), The Specter of Ancestors Becoming (2019) and The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon (2022), each combining archival materials, oral histories and poetic imagery to reimagine the aftermath of conflict. His projects often involve direct collaboration with local communities, incorporating personal testimonies, family artifacts and folklore to build narratives that resist erasure and restore cultural inheritance.

A co-founder of Sàn Art, an independent artist space in Ho Chi Minh City, and of the cross-disciplinary art collective The Propeller Group, Nguyen continues to shape the global dialogue around art, identity and postcolonial history. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the New Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Each MacArthur Fellow receives an $800,000 award with no restrictions, providing recipients the freedom to pursue their creative and intellectual work.

To learn more about Tuan Andrew Nguyen, visit his website here. Learn more about the 2025 MacArthur Fellows at macfound.org/fellows.