The White House has announced the 20 recipients of this year’s National Medals of Arts.
Filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and Ken Burns, along with singers Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah, are among the selection. Their medals will be formally presented by President Joe Biden in a ceremony at the White House.
The prestigious awards honor individuals and organizations for their significant contributions to the cultural fabric of the United States.
In addition to the arts recipients, Biden will also bestow 19 National Humanities Medals during the event. This year’s humanities honorees include playwright and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, historian Jon Meacham, and former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo.
The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists by the United States government, while the National Humanities Medal celebrates contributions to the study of the human experience.
Both awards are administered by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The honors were created by Congress in 1984 and first awarded the following year.
Candidates are selected through the National Council on the Arts, who take submissions from the public into careful consideration, before forwarding them to the president.
According to the White House, the awards are part of President Biden’s ongoing effort to “celebrate artists and scholars who lift us up.”
Biden will award the 2022 and 2023 National Medals of Arts, alongside the National Humanities Medals, in a private ceremony at the White House’s East Room.
The event will be followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m. ET, where President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, and National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) are expected to deliver remarks.
Three of the arts medals will be awarded posthumously.
The late singer Selena Quintanilla, renowned for bringing Tejano music to the mainstream, artist Ruth Asawa, known for her intricate wire sculptures, and the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain, whose numerous travel television series investigating food and culture remain watched by millions.
They died in 1995, 2013, and 2018 respectively. It is unknown who will represent each figure at the ceremony.
Other recipients of the National Medal of Arts include actors Idina Menzel and Eva Longoria, musician Flaco Jiménez, and producer Bruce Cohen. Photographer Carrie Mae Weems, whose works challenge societal norms, and painter Alex Katz will also be awarded, along with arts leaders Jo Carole Lauder and Bruce Sagan.
The National Humanities Medalists include actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, best known for his work on Reading Rainbow, and Indigenous higher education administrator Robert Martin.
The remarks will be live-streamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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