Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

2011 Honoree - Congressional Arts Leadership Award

Biography

The 2011 Congressional Arts Leadership Award was presented to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on April 5, 2011 at the Arts Advocacy Day Congressional Arts Kick-Off on Capitol Hill. Sen. Whitehouse was selected for his strong commitment to the arts following in the example of the great Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, a champion for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). He is one of three senators appointed to serve on the National Council on the Arts, which advises the NEA chairman on agency policies and programs.

Sen. Whitehouse is a member of the Senate Cultural Caucus and received an A+ grade for his arts support in the Americans for the Arts Action Fund 2010 Congressional Arts Report Card. Not only is he an arts leader in the Senate on national arts issues, but Rhode Island arts advocates praise his work for the arts back in his home state, like supporting arts education through the Rhode Island School of Design.