Artists Carrie Mae Weems, Alex Katz, Mark Bradford, and the late Ruth Asawa are among 20 artists who received the 2022 and 2023 National Medals of Arts at the White House today, October 21. Considered the most prestigious award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States federal government, the medals were formally presented by President Joseph Biden in a private ceremony.
“The arts enrich our lives, helping us to ask questions, imagine new possibilities, and create community,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, the independent federal agency that administers the award, in a statement.
Other visual artists who received the award included the photographers Randy Batista and Clyde Butcher, documentarian Ken Burns, filmmakers Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg, and singer-actress Queen Latifah.
The 19 recipients of the 2022 and 2023 National Humanities Medals were also honored at the same ceremony. These included writers, historians, educators, philanthropic organizations, and filmmakers, including the Potawatomi botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, the documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter, and the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain.
Read on for the full list of award recipients.
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, poet
Robin Harris, principal and educator
Juan Felipe Herrera, writer
Robert Martin, administrator in Indigenous higher education
Jon Meacham, writer and historian
Ruth J. Simmons, academic administrator in higher education
Pauline Yu, scholar of Chinese literature
2023 National Humanities Medalists
Anthony Bourdain (posthumous), chef and author
LeVar Burton, actor and literacy advocate
Roz Chast, cartoonist and author
Nicolás Kanellos, scholar and publisher of Hispanic literature
Robin Wall Kimmerer, scholar and author
Mellon Foundation, philanthropic organization
Dawn Porter, filmmaker
Aaron Sorkin, playwright, screenwriter, and director
Darren Walker, social justice philanthropist
Rosita Worl, anthropologist and cultural leader
