President Joe Biden will host a ceremony on Tuesday honoring the 2021 recipients of the National Humanities Medals and the National Medals of Arts, the White House announced on Monday.
The president will award 11 National Humanities Medals and the 12 National Medals of Arts, honoring several notable singers, actors and writers, including Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Gladys Knight. First lady Jill Biden will also attend the event.
The ceremony, which will take place in the East Wing of the White House, is the first the administration has hosted, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Monday’s daily briefing — though Biden did award a National Humanities Medal to Sir Elton John during an event at the White House in September.
The National Medal of Arts is awarded to artists and organizations who have “advanced the arts in America and offered inspiration to others through their distinguished achievement, support, or patronage,” according to a White House statement. The National Humanities Medal is given to those “whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizens’ engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities subjects.”
