Americans for the Arts presents the annual National Arts Awards at New York City's Guastavino's October 17 at 6:30 PM, which includes the presentation of the Ted Arison Young Artist Award to stage and screen favorite Darren Criss.
Recently seen on the Broadway stage in American Buffalo, Criss made his breakout as Blaine Anderson on TV's Glee. Earlier this year, he co-hosted the 2022 Tony Awards: Act One with Julianne Hough, and previously starred as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch after his Broadway debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as J. Pierrepont Finch.
Previous recipients of the Ted Arison Young Artist Award include Sofia Coppola, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Natalie Portman, Gabourey Sidibe, Esperanza Spalding, Uma Thurman, Kerry Washington, and Kehinde Wiley.
The National Arts Awards recognize "artists, activists, and collectives whose work demonstrates extraordinary aesthetic achievement while advancing cultural discourse in the United States." This year's recipients also include Joy Harjo, For Freedoms, Robert F. Smith, and The Gordon Parks Foundation. The Awards, which return for the first time since 2019, are being presented by Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, Jesse Williams, Jon Batiste, LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Lea Salonga.
Musical performances, directed by Jake Goldbas, feature alumni of Young Artists in an immersive visual environment from José Parlá.
Sarah Arison serves as chair, with co-chairs for the event including Herb Alpert Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Marina Kellen French, Agnes Gund, Jeff and Justine Koons, Kara Moore and The Rosenthal Family Foundation's Rick Rosenthal, Nancy Stephens, Jamie Rosenthal Wolf, Jane Stephens Rosenthal, and Mick Rosenthal.
