Kirk Varnedoe, Teresa Heinz, Richard Avedon, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Sofia Coppola
and Dr. Vance Coffman of Lockheed Martin to Be Honored

Washington DC—November 5, 2003—Americans for the Arts will present the 8th annual National Arts Awards on Tuesday, November 11 at a black tie gala to be held at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City.  The National Arts Awards recognize individuals—artists, advocates, business leaders, patrons, and educators—who exhibit exemplary national leadership and whose work demonstrates extraordinary artistic achievement.  As arts leaders they understand that the arts enrich people and communities alike.

Following are this year’s National Arts Awards Recipients—brief bios are attached:

• Special Memorial Tribute for Extraordinary Contributions to the Arts—Kirk Varnedoe
• Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts—Teresa Heinz
• Lifetime Achievement—Richard Avedon
• Artistic Leadership—Christo and Jeanne-Claude
• Corporate Citizenship in the Arts—Dr. Vance Coffman, Lockheed Martin
• Young Artist Award—Sofia Coppola

Leadership for The National Arts Awards celebration is provided by Veronica Hearst as Chair and Agnes Gund and Eli Broad as Co-Chairs.  David R. Goode, Chairman and CEO of Norfolk Southern, serves as the Corporate Chair.  The Americans for the Arts Board Committee is Carol R. Brown, Susan S. Goode, Steven D. Spiess, and Michael S. Verruto.

The National Arts Awards have been presented by Americans for the Arts since its inception in 1996.  Past honorees have included:  Brooke Astor, Alec Baldwin, Peter I. Bijur, John Brademas,  Hillary Rodham Clinton, Frank Gehry, Jacob Lawrence, Gerald M. Levin, Wynton Marsalis, Midori, David Rockefeller, Cindy Sherman, Beverly Sills, Isaac Stern, and Uma Thurman.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, Americans for the Arts has a 40-year record of service. It is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. For more information, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

About The National Arts Award Recipients:
KIRK VARNEDOE
Kirk Varnedoe (1946-2003), art historian and former chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), was one of the best-known advocates for modern and contemporary art.  He deepened and diversified MoMA’s collections through masterful acquisitions, and strengthened its connections to contemporary art through innovative exhibitions such as Artist’s Choice. Mr. Varnedoe’s legacy is one of transformation. He introduced a broad audience to the importance and enduring vitality of art, and demonstrated that a great museum could honor its past without being captive to it.

TERESA HEINZ
Teresa Heinz is chairman of The Heinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies, institutions dedicated to developing strategies to protect the environment, improve education, enhance children’s lives, broaden economic opportunity, and promote the arts. Under her leadership, the Arts & Culture program of The Heinz Endowments has continued promoting the vitality of Pittsburgh’s cultural sector while expanding support for efforts to improve arts education, promote high-quality public art and urban design, and infuse the arts throughout the community.

RICHARD AVEDON
Richard Avedon has distinguished himself as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.  His work has changed the language of both fashion and portrait photography.  Mr. Avedon first made his name in Harper’s Bazaar, where he was staff photographer from 1945-1965.  In addition, he documented the civil rights movement in the South and photographed antiwar protesters in the U.S. and military leaders and war victims in Vietnam.  He remains one of the leading fashion photographers in America, and his portrait work constitutes a modern-day pantheon of artistic, intellectual, and political figures of the twentieth century.

CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE
The environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have partnered on dozens of international site specific projects, many of immense proportions.  Their installations include Wrapped Coast, Little Bay in Sydney, Australia; Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California; Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida; The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris; and The Umbrellas, Japan-U.S.A.  New York City recently approved The Gates, Central Park, New York, in which 7,500 saffron-colored gates with free flowing fabric panels will be installed along 23 miles of the park’s paths.  This project will be realized in February 2005.

DR. VANCE COFFMAN
Dr. Vance Coffman was elected Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin in 1998, after having served in a series of corporate leadership positions.  With more than 125,000 employees across the country and around the world, Lockheed Martin supports the arts at the national, regional, and local levels. Under Dr. Coffman’s leadership, the company views each contribution as an investment in the organization and in the community. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin provides substantial support to arts organizations in its operating communities throughout the U.S.
 
SOFIA COPPOLA
After doing costume design on two films, Sofia Coppola studied fine art at the California Institute of the Arts.  She wrote and directed her first film, The Virgin Suicides, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000. The film starred James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, and Josh Hartnett and was adapted from Jeffrey Eugenides’ best-selling novel.  Ms. Coppola finished her second feature film, Lost in Translation, which opened to critical acclaim this past September.  The New York Times Magazine recently lauded her as “the most original and promising young female filmmaker in America.”