Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight and José Feliciano are among the artists set to receive the National Medal of Arts from President Joe Biden.
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The award ceremony will mark The Boss’ second visit to the White House after being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016. The event, which will be held Tuesday night (March 21), celebrates the 2021 distinction, given that the White House had to postpone a number of ceremonies due to the pandemic.
Elsewhere on the list of honorees are actors Mindy Kaling and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, designer Vera Wang, artists Judith Francisca Baca and Antonio Martorell-Cardona, philanthropist Fred Eychaner and film producer Joan Shigekawa. The Billie Holiday Theater and the International Association of Blacks in Dance will also receive the medal.
The National Medal of Arts is the highest honor given to artists by the U.S. government. Past recipients of the award include Ricky Skaggs, Toby Keith, Linda Ronstadt and Smokey Robinson.
Biden heralded the arts last September while honoring Elton John with the National Humanities Medal at a special ceremony at the White House. The rest of the Humanities honorees will receive their medals at the ceremony tonight.
“The President of the United States awards this National Humanities Medal to Sir Elton John for moving our souls with his powerful voice, one of the defining songbooks of all time,” the White House said in a statement at the time. “An enduring icon and advocate with absolute courage, who found purpose to challenge convention, shatter stigma and advance a simple truth: that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
Find the full list of awardees, below.
2021 National Medal of Arts Recipients
Judith Francisca Baca, artist
Fred Eychaner, philanthropist
Jose Feliciano, musician
Mindy Kaling, actor
Gladys Knight, musician
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actor
Antonio Martorell-Cardona, painter
Joan Shigekawa, producer and arts administrator
Bruce Springsteen, musician
Vera Wang, designer
The Billie Holiday Theatre
The International Association of Blacks in Dance
2021 National Humanities Medal Recipients
Richard Blanco, writer
Johnnetta Betsch Cole, anthropologist
Walter Isaacson, writer
Earl Lewis, historian
Henrietta Mann, Native American academic
Ann Patchett, writer
Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and activist
Amy Tan, writer
Tara Westover, writer
Colson Whitehead, writer
Native America Calling, radio show
(Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
