Photographer Carrie Mae Weems received a State Department medal from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a luncheon on Friday, November 30, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Clinton honored Weems and four other artists—Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahzia Sikander and Kiki Smith—with the first U.S. Department of State Medals of Arts ever awarded. […]
U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies and U.S. Department of Defense Announce “Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes” Twelve “Best in Show” Awardees. In commemoration of Veterans Day, the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies (AIE) and the U.S. Department of Defense proudly announce the 12 “Best in Show” featured in […]
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2012 – Defense Department leaders today honored 12 photography winners, selected from over 3,000 submissions, for their participation in the Arts in Embassies Program. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Pentagon Press Secretary George E. Little recognized 12 “best in […]
Delano Magazine – When you walk into the Luxembourg residence of US ambassador Robert Mandell, you are immediately greeted by a Wolf Kahn canvas depicting a country pond in brilliant greens worthy of Chagall. As you pass into the greeting room, you experience the work of Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and […]
US State Department selects Shahzia Sikander among five artists to receive recognition for their art in US embassies. PHOTO: 3.84.169.44 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will award the US State Department Medal of Arts to Pakistani painter Shahzia Sikander, along with four other artists, reported LA Times. This is the first time this award […]
On November 29, 2012, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Art in Embassies (AIE), U.S. Department of State, joined with the Aspen Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to present a conversation with the five recipients of the Medal of Arts, awarded by […]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the Art in Embassies 50th Anniversary Luncheon at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2012.
The following are the remarks for the Art in Embassies 50th Anniversary Luncheon. SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very, very much. I am absolutely delighted to see the Ben Franklin Room filled for this event, which is so important to us here at the State Department. And I want to thank Beth for her tireless efforts […]
In what may be one of the first planned explosions on the National Mall, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang is expected to blow up a 40-foot pine tree this afternoon in honor of the Sackler Gallery’s 25th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the Art in Embassies program. Using 2,000 firework-like explosives, Guo-Qiang will take the […]
For 50 years the U.S. State Department has been deploying visual art as part of the art of diplomacy, via a program called Art in Embassies. On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts to five artists who have shown “an enduring commitment” to the effort: Jeff […]
There are different approaches of diplomacy to broker peace and understanding. Cultural programs can serve as a bridge between people and nations. One cultural emissary is photographer and video artist Carrie Mae Weems. She will be honored by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an awards ceremony Friday at the State Department. Weems will receive […]
Jeff Koons discusses his work on the occasion of being bestowed with a Medal from Department of State, as part of the 50th anniversary of the “Art in Embassies” cultural exchange program. Of the international reception to his art, Koons says, “…Americans are more intimidated by art, and they haven’t really come to realize that […]
In a luncheon ceremony tomorrow at the State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will honor five contemporary artists — Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahzia Sikander, Kiki Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems — with the department’s inaugural Medal of Arts, a new award recognizing the honorees’ commitment to […]
‘Soundsuits’ sculptor Nick Cave performs at the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies 50th anniversary celebration Sculpture reinvents itself as sound, as music and as a source of protection in the hands of Nick Cave. The Chicago-based performance artist and sculptor constructs “Soundsuits,” material-heavy costumes that inspired a number of Corcoran College of Art + […]
In honor of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ Office ofArt in Embassies (AIE) 50th anniversary, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host a luncheon at 12:15 p.m. on November 30th in the State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms to recognize AIE’s achievements. The AIE mission is two-fold – to create the highest quality […]
Clark Griswold, National Lampoon’s master of extravagant holiday displays, has got nothing on Cai Guo-Qiang. To celebrate the Sackler Gallery’s 25th anniversary, the Chinese artist famous for his Olympic pyrotechnics display will ignite a daytime fireworks show that riffs on the Christmas tree lightings taking place around the country. At 3 p.m. Friday in front […]
In celebration of 25 years of groundbreaking exhibitions, programs and scholarship in Asian art, the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will host a week of public events, welcoming international arts and culture aficionados. Visitors can experience an immersive 3-D “cave,” meet their favorite authors as well as attend lectures and performances by distinguished scholars and […]
For 50 years, the State Department’s Office of Art in Embassies has selected and displayed American art, mostly behind locked doors in highly secure buildings. The pieces AIE purchases for embassies, and borrows for ambassadors’ residences, are usually seen only by official guests. “It may not be something specifically that the American citizen can experience,” […]
