Selena Quintanilla, Steven Spielberg, Queen Latifah among National Medal of Arts honorees
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden awarded the 2022 and 2023 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal to a range of recipients at the White House Monday, and among the honorees are the Queen of Tejano music Selena Quintanilla, directors Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott.
Selena was one of three to be honored posthumously -- artist Ruth Asawa for the Arts Medal, and the late chef-author Anthony Bourdain was among the humanities medal winners.
Selena's sister, Suzette Quintanilla, who celebrated the singer's honor on Instagram, accepted the medal on her behalf.
"This remarkable achievement celebrates Selena's enduring impact on her music and legacy," Suzette said on Instagram.
Filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and Ken Burns and singers Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah were among 20 recipients of National Medals of Arts, while the 19 recipients of National Humanities Medals included playwright-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and historian Jon Meacham.
"Above all, you are the masters of your craft that have made us a better America with all of you have done," Biden said at the White House ceremony.
Biden also told the winners that the moment was a "very consequential time in the arts and humanities in America" because "extreme forces are banning books, trying to erase history, spreading misinformation."
The arts medals are managed by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the humanities medals by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Actors Idina Menzel and Eva Longoria, who screened her film 'Flamin' Hot' at the White House last summer, producer Bruce Cohen and musicians Leonardo "Flaco" Jimenez and Herbert I. Ohta also received arts medals, along with photographers Randy A. Batista and Clyde Butcher, artists Carrie Mae Weems, Alex Katz and Mark Bradford, arts leaders Jo Carole Lauder and Bruce Sagan and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Arts medals are given to "individuals or groups who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States."
Other humanities winners included former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, actor-literacy advocate LeVar Burton, cartoonist Roz Chast and philanthropists Wallis Annenberg and Darren Walker. The humanities medals honor "an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens' engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources."
Humanities medalists ranged from such cultural institutions as the Mellon Foundation and Appalshop to educators Robin Harris, Robert Martin and Ruth J. Simmons to scholars Pauline Yu, Nicolás Kanellos and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Writer Juan Felipe Herrera, filmmaker Dawn Porter and anthropologist Rosita Worl also were honored.
Below is the list of 2022 and 2023 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, 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 Medal recipients:
- Wallis Annenberg, philanthropist
- Appalshop, community arts and programming center
- Joy Harjo (Muscogee Nation), poet
- Robin Harris, principal and educator
- Juan Felipe Herrera, writer
- Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation), administrator in Indigenous higher education
- Jon Meacham, writer and historian
- Dr. Ruth Simmons, academic administrator in higher education
- Dr. Pauline Yu, scholar of Chinese literature
2023 National Humanities Medal recipients:
- 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 (Potawatomi Nation), scholar and author
- Mellon Foundation, philanthropic organization
- Dawn Porter, filmmaker
- Aaron Sorkin, playwright, screenwriter, and director
- Darren Walker, social justice philanthropist
- Rosita Worl (Tlingit), anthropologist and cultural leader
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
