President Obama to Award 2012 National Medal of Arts

Submitted by Steve on July 8, 2013

On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, President Barack Obama will present the National Medal of Arts in conjunction with the National Humanities Medals. The medals will be presented by the President during an East Room ceremony at the White House. First Lady Michelle Obama will also be in attendance. The National Medal of Arts is a White House initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts. Each year, the NEA organizes and oversees the National Medal of Arts nomination process and notifies the artists of their selection to receive a medal, the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence.

This event will also be live streamed at WH.gov/Live and an archive of the video will be available after the event on the White House YouTube page.

NEA Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to join the President in honoring and celebrating the American arts community. From landscape design to musicians to writers, these 12 recipients are representative of the breadth and excellence of art that is flourishing in the United States.”

The 2012 National Medal of Arts recipients are:

Herb Alpert, Musician and Producer
Lin Arison, Arts Patron
Joan Myers Brown, Dance Instructor
Renée Fleming, Soprano
Ernest Gaines, Author
Ellsworth Kelly, Visual Artist
Tony Kushner, Playwright
George Lucas, Director and Producer
Elaine May, Writer, Director, and Performer
Laurie Olin, Landscape Architect
Allen Toussaint, Musician and Producer
Washington Performing Arts Society, Presenter