BAM Responds To National Arts Medal Honor From The White House

BAM announced some thrilling news earlier this week–they’ve been selected to receive a National Medal of the Arts this coming Monday, July 28, from President Obama in Washington, DC.

The National Endowment for the Arts says medals go yearly to artists, venues, and arts patrons 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.”

In a press release, the White House explained BAM was a perfect pick for the award based on the organization’s “innovative contributions to the performing and visual arts.

“For over 150 years,”  reads the announcement, “BAM has showcased the works of both established visionaries and emerging artists who take risks and push boundaries.”

We reached out to BAM, where organization President Karen Brooks Hopkins expressed gratitude to Brooklyn’s hugely supportive arts community.

“This honor reflects the hard work of the brilliant artists who have graced BAM’s stages and screens, the arts administrators and board members who have given the institution their service, the generous donors, and loyal audiences who believed in the potential of our organization over many years,” she says.

“And, of course, it speaks to our beloved borough of Brooklyn and the city of New York, whose leaders have provided the resources for BAM to thrive.”

Others being honored this year in the arts category include poet Julia Alvarez, arts patron Joan Harris, dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones, composer John Kander, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, writer Maxine Hong Kingston, documentarian Albert Maysles, singer Linda Ronstadt, architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams, and artist James Turrell.

Congratulations to BAM and all the other medal recipients!

Photo by Bosc d’Anjou