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This year's MacArthur "genius" grants were announced today — $500,000 over five years, with no strings attached — and six New Yorkers are among the 25 winners. Our geniuses (well, our official geniuses — our mother convinced us at a young age, as we're sure yours did for you, that we're geniuses, too) are:

• Novelist Jonthan Lethem
• Documentary filmmaker Edet Belzberg
• Painter Julie Mehretu
• Bronx activist Majora Carter
• Sculptor Teresita Fernandez
• Photographer Fazal Sheikh

So now you know who to mug. You're welcome.

Gotham Geniuses [NYDN]