President Joe Biden will award the National Medals of Arts and Humanities to several recipients, including Queen Latifah, Spike Lee, Missy Eilliot, and LeVar Burton, who are among the honorees.
At a ceremony on Monday, October 21, President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, and National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) will give remarks, set to stream live at 5:30 p.m. at whitehouse.gov.
Other recipients on hand to receive the prestigious honor include Steven Spielberg, Eva Longoria, Bruce Cohen, Aaron Sorkin, Dawn Porter, Idina Menzel, Ken Burns and Jon Meacham.
In addition, the 2022 and 2023 National Humanities Medals will be presented at the ceremony.
According to The White House, the arts medal is “the highest award given to artists, arts patrons and groups by the United States Government and honors exemplary individuals and organizations that have advanced the arts in America and offered inspiration to others through their distinguished achievement, support or patronage.”
In a statement, Jackson shared the importance of the artist’s contribution to society.
“The arts enrich our lives, helping us to ask questions, imagine new possibilities and create community. The NEA is pleased to join President Biden in congratulating the 2022 and 2023 National Medal of Arts recipients whose curiosity, creativity, hard work, and dedication have inspired and touched so many in our country and around the globe,” Jackson’s statement read.
Established in 1997, the National Humanities Medal “honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizens’ engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy and other humanities subjects. Up to 12 medals can be awarded each year.”
The National Medal of Arts recipients can be publicly nominated and considered by the National Council on the Arts before being forwarded to the president. Congress inaugurated the award in 1984; the first awards were handed out in 1986.
Below is a complete list of all the recipients of the National Medals of Arts and Humanities:
2022 National Medal of Arts recipients
- Ruth Asawa (posthumous), artist
- Randy A. Batista, photographer
- Clyde Butcher, landscape photographer
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, museum and education center
- Melissa “Missy” Elliott, artist and producer
- Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez, musician
- Eva Longoria, actress, director and philanthropist
- Idina Menzel, actress and singer
- Herbert I. Ohta, musician
- Bruce Sagan, arts leader
- Carrie Mae Weems, visual artist
2023 National Medal of Arts recipients
- Mark Bradford, artist
- Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker
- Bruce Cohen, producer
- Alex Katz, artist
- Jo Carole Lauder, arts leader
- Spike Lee, filmmaker
- Queen Latifah, artist and actress
- Selena Quintanilla (posthumous), singer
- Steven Spielberg, filmmaker
2022 National Humanities Medalists
- Wallis Annenberg, philanthropist
- Appalshop, community arts and programming center
- Joy Harjo (Muscogee Nation), poet
- Robin Harris, principal and educator
- Juan Felipe Herrera, writer
- Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation), administrator in Indigenous higher education
