Nigerian-American Choreographer Okwui Okpokwasili Is a 2018 MacArthur 'Genius Award' Recipient

Okwui Okpokwasili is being recognized for making the lives of women who've been left out of dominant culture narratives and their stories visible.

The 2018 class of the MacArthur Fellows program has been announced Thursday, where 25 individuals from various fields are given a no-strings $625,000 award to encourage them to continue to innovate, take risks and pursue their creative vision.

Nigerian-American choreographer and performer Okwui Okpokwasili is one of the recipients of the "genius award" and is duly being recognized for making the lives of women who've been left out of dominant culture narratives and their stories visible.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Okpokwasili's work focuses on the interior lives of women of color, especially those of African descent, whose stories have been overlooked and deemed invisible. The histories of both the Bronx and Nigeria and the women and girls who live in both places are significant points of reference in her work.

Her productions are experimental and meet at the intersection of theater, dance and the visual arts.

Learn more about her work in her 2018 MacArthur Fellow feature below.