The MacArthur fellowships, awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for exceptional “originality, insight and potential,” come with a no-strings-attached award of $625,000, distributed over five years. These are the 2017 fellows.

[More about the winners.]

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, 34

Painter

Los Angeles

Sunil Amrith, 38

Historian

Harvard University

Cambridge, Mass.

Greg Asbed, 54

Human rights strategist

Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Fair Food Program

Immokalee, Fla.