(Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum celebrated the highly-anticipated arrival of its National Medal of Arts medallion with staff today. The museum was recognized with the prestigious honor last October during a ceremony at the White House. The Medal is the highest honor in the arts given by the United States government.
Kyle Young, CEO of the museum, gathered staff in the Ford Theater to thank them for their contributions and acknowledge the many individuals and entities who supported the museum’s educational mission through the years. He also shared his experience accepting the honor on behalf of the institution. Following a staff photo, the newly engraved Medal was placed on display in the museum’s galleries along with the accompanying White House Citation.
The Citation recognized the museum “for cataloguing one of the nation’s great homegrown art forms” and for its enduring work, which “preserves history, honors giants of the genre and inspires future generations to write their own songs about the American story.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was named among 20 National Medal of Arts recipients representing 2022 and 2023. Primarily awarded to individuals, the museum was the only institution included among the new recipients.
Established by Congress in 1984, the Medal is awarded to individuals or groups 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.”
About the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum:
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. Among the most-visited history museums in the United States, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was awarded the country’s highest honor in the arts, the National Medal of Arts, in 2024. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, Haley Gallery, CMA Theater, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported in part by Metro Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.