Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight and José Feliciano have been announced as recipients of the National Medals of Arts, according to a White House press release. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will present the trophies to them tomorrow (March 21) at 4:30 p.m. EST at the White House along with his colleagues Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling, and Vera Wang, among others. The event will be streamed live on the White House website.
“National Medal of Arts recipients have helped define and enrich our nation’s cultural legacy through their passionate lifelong commitment,” said National Endowment for the Arts President Maria Rosario Jackson. “We are a better nation thanks to your contributions. Their work helps us see the world in different ways. It inspires us to reach our full potential and recognize our common humanity. I join the president in congratulating and thanking them.”
Also receiving the 2021 National Medals of Arts are Judith Francisca Baca, Fred Eychaner, Antonio Martorell-Cardona, Joan Shigekawa, the Billie Holiday Theater and the International Association of Blacks in Dance.
Last year, Gladys Knight was honored at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement. In 2016, Springsteen received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama.
