Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Presidential Documents 68425 

Proclamation 10634 of September 29, 2023 

National Arts and Humanities Month, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

During the throes of the American Revolution, General George Washington 

wrote a letter to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences saying, ‘‘The 

arts and sciences [are] essential to the prosperity of the State and . . . 

the ornament and happiness of human life.’’ His words are a reminder 

that, since our founding days, America’s arts and humanities have helped 

tell the story of our Nation. They represent the freedom of expression that 

empowers Americans to speak and think independently and creatively. They 

build bridges of understanding by chronicling the shared experiences of 

hope, heartbreak, joy, and pain that help us see ourselves in one another. 

And they record and wrestle with the truth of our history while envisioning 

all the possibilities our future holds. During National Arts and Humanities 

Month, we celebrate all the artists and scholars whose works depict the 

rich, enduring soul of our Nation. 

My Administration is committed to ensuring that appreciation of and access 

to the arts and humanities are within the reach of every American. My 

American Rescue Plan invested over $1 billion to help libraries, theaters, 

concert halls, and other venues, and we have invested hundreds of millions 

more into strengthening the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and 

the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). I also signed an Executive 

Order to make art more accessible to people from underserved communities, 

elevate new voices through the arts and humanities, and expand opportunities for artists and scholars. 

In coordination with the White House United We Stand Summit, the NEH 

launched a new initiative titled ‘‘United We Stand: Connecting Through 

Culture’’ that leverages the arts and humanities to combat hate-motivated 

violence—utilizing the power of art to promote civic engagement and cultural 

understanding. This project helps reaffirm our Nation’s central promise that 

hate will have no safe harbor in America. And we recently announced 

the top five awardees of Art x Climate—the first-ever call for visual art 

that will be featured in the fifth National Climate Assessment. 

One of the greatest joys The First Lady and I have is the opportunity 

to celebrate the arts through performances and screenings here at the White 

House. Over the past two and a half years, we have held screenings of 

films, welcomed dancers to the state floor, and hosted musicians and poets 

whose performances captured our hearts and souls in a way that only 

artists can. And I have honored the indelible impact of incredible artists 

and scholars—from a poet and a painter to musicians and actors—by awarding National Humanities Medals and National Medals of Arts and by hosting 

Kennedy Center honorees here at the White House. Each of these artists 

are a testament to a larger truth: that we are a great Nation in large part 

because of the power of the arts and humanities, which is forever stamped 

into America’s DNA. 

During National Arts and Humanities Month, may we celebrate all the 

artists and scholars who have dared to reveal the good, bad, and truth 

of our Nation, and, in the process, have strengthened the covenant that 

is our democracy. 


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68426 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2023 as 

National Arts and Humanities Month. I call on the people of the United 

States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 

celebrations. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 

day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, 

and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 

and forty-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22222 

Filed 10–3–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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