Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2016

The Kennedy Center Announces

Inaugural Recipients of Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit

Wallis Annenberg Distinguished Philanthropist Award &

Theaster Gates Citizen Artist Award Presented at the 24th Annual Kennedy Center Spring Gala Sunday, June 5, 2016 Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg (WASHINGTON)—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the Center has established a new award, the Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit, a national recognition to be presented annually to two individuals who have had an enduring impact on the advancement of the arts and culture. The inaugural recipients of the Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit are Wallis Annenberg, Chairman of the Board and President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation (Distinguished Philanthropist Award), and Theaster Gates, Chicago-based conceptual artist (Citizen Artist Award). Ms. Annenberg and Mr. Gates are slated to receive their awards at the Kennedy Center’s Spring Gala on June 5, 2016, a musical tribute to Marvin Gaye (“How Sweet It Is: Celebrating Marvin Gaye”), hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The awards are bestowed to commemorate the seminal contributions of both President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to the integration of arts in America. Recipients are chosen by a nominating committee comprised of members of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and Artistic Advisors. “As the country’s official Presidential memorial for John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy Center is a living, vibrant reflection of his legacy. We continue to heed his call and honor his dedication to

-more-

fostering and nurturing the arts and arts education in our national life and around the world,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. “Wallis and Theaster represent the very best of dedication to the arts and innovation in America—by championing the art, supporting the artist, and educating future generations. Always leading by example, they have devoted their entire lives to revitalizing our communities through profound artistic projects and programs.” The “Distinguished Philanthropist Award” acknowledges a lifetime commitment and advocacy for the performing arts, recognizing an individual who, through both personal commitment and philanthropy, has had a transformational impact on the broader cultural life of their community and country. A visionary who strives to improve the well-being of people and communities through the world, Ms. Annenberg has spent much of her life focused on philanthropy. Her keen vision for philanthropy furthers the core values of the Annenberg Foundation—openness, accessibility, fairness, and relationship building. “I believe that the arts aren’t an afterthought; they are not a frivolous luxury,” stated Wallis Annenberg. “The arts are the one realm of human endeavor that reaches beyond our differences, our preconceptions, to engage, astonish, and enlighten us. And I believe very deeply, as President Kennedy did, that we must do all we can to ‘set the artist free,’ so they can nourish our culture and our communities and our souls as well. That’s why the arts have been at the center of my own philanthropy. I am pleased to receive this honor and especially gratified to help inaugurate the Distinguished Philanthropist Award.” The second award, the “Citizen Artist Award,” recognizes an individual leader who presents, produces, and deepens the impact of the arts in a demonstrated, transformational way at the local, state, or national level. Recipients are chosen among practitioners, administrators, creators, or educators who utilize the arts and/or arts education to advance and enrich the quality of life in their community. Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates is celebrated for an expanded practice encompassing space development, sculpture, installation, and performance. Works such as Sanctum (2015), an installation within the bombed-out remains of Temple Church in Bristol, England, and The Dorchester Project in Chicago, have created multi-purpose studio spaces as catalysts for urban regeneration and community building. Through the nonprofit Rebuild Foundation, Gates renovated a cluster of formerly abandoned buildings on Chicago’s South Side, transforming them from sites of neglect to a vibrant cultural locus. Employing adaptive reuse, and recuperating archival inventory, he has set up a collaborative platform

for contemporary creativity and community-driven initiatives to drive cultural and socio-economic renewal. “Art does not start with a design concept or raw material or even the pursuit of a specific aspect of making. Art starts with a calling. The desire to see beauty, humanity, and equity manifested through my work—on the page, or a wall or the city, is worth living for,” said Theaster Gates upon learning he would receive the Award. “I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for believing in the work with me.” In one of D.C.’s social events of the year, the Kennedy Center pays tribute to America’s immortal Motown hit-maker and D.C. native, the late singer Marvin Gaye, at the 2016 Kennedy Center Spring Gala on Sunday, June 5, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The evening program, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, celebrates Gaye’s enigmatic and innovative contributions to the Motown sound during the peak of his career in the 1970s and 1980s, and his musical influence that spans generations. From “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” to “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “What’s Going On” to “Sexual Healing,” Gaye’s classic R&B voice produced a wide range of hits— from soul standards to his late-career thematic music that stood as social commentary about the state of the world (the album What’s Going On). Upon his posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, his incomparable vocals were described by the Hall of Fame as “edged with grit yet tempered with sweetness.” The co-chairs of the 2016 Spring Gala are Mr. Dale LeFebvre and Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Ein. Full programming and casting details for the Spring Gala concert will be announced at a later date. The Spring Gala’s black-tie evening begins with a reception on the River Terrace at 5 p.m. followed by an elegant dinner on the Roof Terrace at 6 p.m. The Gala performance begins at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall and the evening concludes with a private, special recognition reception for patrons supporting the Gala at the Platinum and Gold levels joined by the recipients of the Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit. As one of Washington’s leading benefit engagements, the annual Kennedy Center Spring Gala provides critical funding to support the Center’s performances, education programs, and outreach initiatives. To inquire about Spring Gala VIP packages, patrons may email [email protected] or call (202) 416-8338 for additional information. Concert-only tickets for the 2016 Spring Gala How Sweet It Is: A Tribute to Marvin Gaye start at $45 and may be purchased at the Kennedy Center Box Office, online, or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600; patrons living outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan calling area may dial tollfree at (800) 444-1324.

The Kennedy Center Spring Gala Premier Sponsor is Boeing, whose contributions play a crucial leadership role in supporting the presentation of the Kennedy Center’s artistic and educational programs throughout the year.

About Wallis Annenberg A visionary who strives to improve the well-being of people and communities throughout the world, Wallis has spent much of her life focused on philanthropy dedicated to education, communications, arts and culture, medical research, animal welfare, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Her keen vision for philanthropy furthers the core values of the Annenberg Foundation—openness, accessibility, fairness, and relationship building. Since assuming chairmanship of the Foundation in 2009, Wallis has overseen the distribution of more than $386 million to over 1,642 organizations. Prior to that, she directed the Los Angeles office of the Foundation in giving nearly half a billion dollars to over 1,000 organizations. Complementing this high impact grant making are special projects and initiatives that push the boundaries of traditional philanthropy while serving the Los Angeles community in unprecedented ways. Combined, her philanthropic endeavors reflect a uniquely creative approach to leadership capacity building, workforce development and jobs growth in Los Angeles. Her commitment to building community space can been seen through the creation of the Annenberg Community Beach House located on the grounds of the former Marion Davies estate at 415 Pacific Coast Highway; the innovative Universally Accessible Treehouse project in Torrance, California; and The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts in the historic Beverly Hills Post Office. To strengthen the Los Angeles nonprofit community, executive professional development and technical assistance is offered several times a year free of charge through Annenberg Alchemy and Project Grantsmanship. In 2009, the Foundation opened the Annenberg Space for Photography, a state-of-theart photographic print and digital gallery open to the public year-round and free of charge. Wallis is the longest serving trustee at the University of Southern California and has been honored by numerous organizations About Theaster Gates Theaster Gates creates platforms. In Chicago, his leadership of artist-led spaces has catalyzed an evolution in perceptions of some of the most underserved parts of the city. Beginning with interventions in small-scale residences, now known as Dorchester Projects, his houses in Greater Grand Crossing became a nexus for globally engaged experiments in structures of individual and collective living, working, and art-making. Launched into the international art world as 12 Ballads for Huguenot House at Documenta 13, the houses embodied a new system of values not only in the austere yet inviting atmosphere incorporating once discarded materials as design elements, but in the ongoing, flexible use of the spaces and the creation of new relationships and opportunities among artists, visitors, and students.

As evident in the synergistic design process of his mindful building practices and persistent challenging of organization structures, his developmental projects function as an extension of his studio work. Gates takes on the problem of Black space as a formal exercise, reminiscent of Beuys’s concept of social structure. The latest example of his work is the Stony Island Arts Bank, which opened in conjunction with the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial in October 2015. At the University of Chicago, he is a Professor in the Department of Visual Arts and the Collage, and Director Arts + Public Life which is housed at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park. He also leads an urban research initiative known as Place Lab—a team of social scientists, architects, creative professionals, and business leaders. With support from the Knight Foundation, Gates and his team will create frameworks for reimagining the role that culture plays in the redevelopment of transforming African-American communities over the next three years. He is helping to define the future of artistic place-based efforts, in both research and practice. # # #

Discover the Kennedy Center on social media:

PRESS CONTACT Eileen Andrews (202) 416-8448 [email protected] Brittany Laeger (202) 416-8445 [email protected]

TICKETS & INFORMATION (202) 467-4600; (800) 444-1324 kennedy-center.org