On March 2, 2011, President Barack Obama is presenting the National Medal of Arts to eight recipients for their outstanding achievements and support of the arts. (Ten medalists were announced; however two are not able to attend the ceremony. Their medals will be presented at another time.) The medals are presented by the president in the East Room ceremony at the White House. Mrs. Michelle Obama will also be in attendance. The National Medal of Arts is a White House initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts. Each year, the NEA organizes and oversees the National Medal of Arts nomination process and notifies the artists of their selection to receive a medal, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence.

"The National Medal of Arts recipients represent the many vibrant and diverse art forms thriving in America," said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. "From criticism to literature, music, poetry, sculpture, and theater, these honorees' devotion to shaping and sharing American art is unrivaled, and I join the President and the country in saluting them."

The 2010 National Medal of Arts Recipients are:

• Robert Brustein
Theatrical Critic, Producer, Playwright, and Educator
New York, New York

• Van Cliburn
Pianist and Music Educator
Shreveport, Louisiana

• Mark di Suvero
Sculptor
Shanghai, China

• Donald Hall
Poet
New Haven, Connecticut

• Quincy Jones
Musician and Music Producer
Chicago, Illinois

• *Harper Lee
Author
Monroeville, Alabama

• Sonny Rollins
Jazz Musician
Harlem, New York

• *Meryl Streep
Actress
Summit, New Jersey

• James Taylor
Singer and Songwriter
Boston, Massachusetts