In light of last week’s tragic events, the announcement of who will get this year’s MacArthur Fellowships has been postponed until mid-October. No specific date has yet been set. The recipients of this year's MacArthur Fellowships were originally to be named Sept. 19.

Awarded with no conditions of use, the grants are handed out to artists and intellectuals for originality and dedication by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

A spokesperson for the event told Playbill On-Line (Sept. 19) the delay seemed appropriate as the Fellowships are “a celebratory event.” Each fellowship is for $500,000, paid out in quarterly installments over five years.

Honorees are nominated anonymously by leaders in their respective fields and learn of their nomination only when they are selected for the fellowship. They will be notified beginning Sept. 14.

Past recipients of the grants, which have been handed out since 1981, include theatre artists such as Richard Foreman, Bill Irwin, Elizabeth LeCompte, Peter Sellars, Anna Deavere Smith, Ellen Stewart, Julie Taymor, and Naomi Wallace. — By Steve Luber and Diane Snyder