Washington, DC -- Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists, arts organizations, and arts patrons in the United States. The American public may nominate artists and arts patrons for this award through the National Endowment for the Arts' website. The deadline is April 5, 2013. The National Medal of Arts are awarded annually by the President with the NEA managing the nomination process. At the 2011 National Medal of Arts ceremony, President Obama described the annual event as "a moment when America has a chance to pay tribute to extraordinary men and women who have excelled in the arts and the humanities, and who, along the way, have left an indelible mark on American culture." Since the inception of the National Medal of Arts in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan, 290 individuals have been honored for their creativity, inspiration, and hard work. These exceptional individuals have significantly enriched the cultural life of our nation and include writers such as Rita Dove and Ralph Ellison; visual artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Stella; actors such as Meryl Streep and Al Pacino, musicians such as Van Cliburn and Jessye Norman; dancers such as Twyla Tharp and Tina Ramirez, as well as architects, designers, arts educators, directors, and composers. Arts organizations such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival have been recognized as have arts patrons including Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Hon. Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Mayor of Charleston. Nominees for a National Medal of Arts must be U.S. citizens with a distinguished professional career that merits receiving the U.S. government’s highest award. Competitive nominees will be familiar to reviewers so the purpose of the nomination is to remind reviewers that a nominee should be considered. Posthumous nominations are not accepted and all nominations must be made online. You can learn more about some of the past recipients of the National Medal of Arts on the NEA website. Our podcast library includes interviews with and about 13 National Medal of Arts recipients, such as André Watts, Milton Glaser, Olivia de Havilland, and Stan Lee. All of these podcasts are available on the NEA's website. In addition, visit the NEA's Art Works Blog for an interview with Medal of Arts recipient Mark di Suvero. The White House expects to announce the recipients of the 2012 National Medal of Arts and set a date for them to be awarded shortly. For further information on the National Medal of Arts, please contact the NEA's Office of the Chief of Staff at 202-682-5434.

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Nov 04, 2010

Frank Stella

One of the most well-regarded postwar American artists still working, Frank Stella discusses his five-decade career in the visual arts, from paintings to sculptures to murals to architecture.

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Feb 23, 2012

André Watts

The pianist and National Medal of Arts Recipient remembers the early years of his career.

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Feb 16, 2012

Rita Dove

The former U.S. Poet Laureate and National Medal of Arts Recipient talks about her writing with a focus on her most recent book of poems, "Sonata Mullatica."