Congratulations to Temple Film and Media Arts Professor Rea Tajiri who has been named a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow, joining the 100th Class of the fellowship!
Chosen through a rigorous application and peer review process from a pool of nearly 3,500 applicants, the Class of 2025 Guggenheim Fellows was tapped based on both prior career achievement and exceptional promise. This is a huge accomplishment and just another demonstration of the high quality of Temple's Film and Media Arts Faculty.
In addition to the acclaim from the many students she has mentored here at Temple, Professor Tajiri has recently received significant attention for her documentary film Wisdom Gone Wild which garnered awards at film festivals including the Austin Asian American Film Festival, Blackstar Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. The film was also presented on PBS as part of their POV program (and Temple Film and Media Arts was fortunate enough to screen it in 2024). Also, this year, Professor Tajiri was also granted the prestigious USA Fellowship.
Tajiri has been a wonderful advocate for the art of documentary, and a consistent reminder of the incredible legacy surrounding documentary filmmaking at Temple.
We are so excited by her many accomplishments and accolades, and we can’t wait to see what her next project will bring.
The Guggenheim Fellowship was established in 1925 by founder, Senator Simon Guggenheim where each Fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”
Rea is a Film-Video Fellow, and out of 198 Fellows in the 2025 class she is one of 4 fellows from Philadelphia, and one of two fellows representing Temple University along with Dance Professor Merián Soto!
The Guggenheim Fellowship’s website says: “At a time when intellectual life is under attack, the Guggenheim Fellowship celebrates a century of support for the lives and work of visionary scientists, scholars, writers, and artists,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and President of the Guggenheim Foundation. “We believe that these creative thinkers can take on the challenges we all face today and guide our society towards a better and more hopeful future.”
Many Fellows’ projects directly respond to timely themes and issues such as climate change, Indigenous studies, identity, democracy and politics, incarceration, and the evolving purpose of community. Since its founding in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has awarded over $400 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 Fellows.
Congratulations, Prof. Tajiri on another huge Award!