Chairs

Chien Dao Glasgow, Wells Megalli
  

Members

Donald Cantillo, Joanne Cole, Mark Cosgrove, Kate Jiranek, Steve Kass, Robert A. King, Joshua Ness, Joao Quinas, Geoff Ross, Cecilia Serrano, Lee Skolnick, Roderick Thompson, Meghan Weatherby 
  

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To encourage awareness of and interest in the built environment and, through a wide variety of programs, to educate and inform the community about architects and buildings, theories, trends, and ideas, and design, planning and preservation. Committee members participate in the development and production of programs featuring architects, architectural trends, architectural history, lighting, landscaping, and many other aspects of architecture and design.
 

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor Recipients

2007 - Daniel Libeskind

2008 - Steven Holl

2011 - Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill

2014 - Robert A. M. Stern

2019 - Diller Scofidio + Renfro

2024 - Frida Escobedo

Chairs

Phillip Edward Spradley

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

The Art & Technology Committee focuses on the work of practitioners who engage in broadening and influencing the way society produces, consumes, interacts and creates. Through the impact of technological and scientific developments, our mission is to highlight and explore the effects of collaboration, manipulation and innovation.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor Recipients

2011 - Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Chair

Virginia Salem
 

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To introduce and educate through a wide range of culinary arts topics to the public and inspire through sharing experiences, history and stories. 

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Chair

Laura Daly,  Dawn Lille
 

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To share with NAC members and the general public the unique pleasures of the art of dance - its performance, history and cross pollination with other art forms. Events will include live performance, film, panel discussions and outside events.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected] with a brief review of your background and how you would contribute to the mission of the committee.
We expect all committee members to be actively involved in both suggesting/spearheading events and sharing responsibilities.

Medal of Honor Recipients

2022 - Judith Jamison

2019 - Kevin McKenzie

Chair

Rosemarie Dackerman
 

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To share with NAC members and the general public the unique pleasures of the the decorative arts.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Chair

Catherine Kleszczewski, Angela Lui, David Zyla

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To inspire, delight, and enrich NAC members and guests in all areas of fashion; shining a light on all elements of dress and personal adornment. Fashion Committee events have taken our audiences for a walk on the red carpet, backstage on Broadway, down the world’s runways, and in and out of designer closets. 

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our working committee, please email us at [email protected].

Recent Events / News

Check out some of our recent virtual events at our YouTube channel, here.

Medal of Honor Recipients

2024 - Joseph Abboud 2023 - Naeem Khan 2022 - Valerie Steele 2020 - Anna Sui 2018 - Narciso Rodriguez 2018 - Iris Apfel 2016 - Norma Kamali 2016 - Badgley Mischka 2015 - William Ivey Long 2013 - Patricia Field 2010 - Ruth Finley 2009 - Betsey Johnson 2006 - Arnold Scaasi 2005 - Oleg Cassini 2004 - Carolina Herrera 2003 - Geoffrey Beene Past Events Season 2020 – 2021 2/26/21    Pyjama Party (New & Lingwood and Andrew Yamato) 2/12/21    The Art of Scent (Sue Phillips) 2/10/21    The Folies Bergere in Las Vegas (Karan Feder) 1/29/21    Sneakers x Culture: Collab (Elizabeth Semmelhack) 1/22/21    The Rose in Fashion: Ravishing (Amy de la Haye) 1/15/21    Rock and Roll Fashion (Bob Gruen) 12/4/20    The Art of Dressing Barbie (Carol Spencer) 12/1/20    Supreme Glamour (Ms. Mary Wilson) 11/18/20  DRAGS (Gregory Kramer, Linda Simpson, Marti Gould Cummings, and Mrs. Smith) 11/16/20  Designing Hamilton (Paul Tazwell) 11/13/20  Project Runway (Marquise Foster, Geoffrey Mac, and Tyler Neasloney) 10/30/20  Re-Dressing Crime (Alison Matthews David) 10/27/20  How to Slay (Constance White) 10/16/20  Work On This Day (Kimberly Chrisman Campbell) 9/29/20    Film Noir: The Killer 1940s (Kimberly Truhler) 9/11/20    The Age of Undress: Art, Fashion, and the Classical Ideal in the 1790s (Amelia Rauser) Season 2019 – 2020 8/13/20    Cosmetic Queens (Elizabeth Kerri Mahone) 8/5/20     The Art of Costume Design on Broadway (Alejo Vietti) 7/28/20   Vintage Black Glamour (Nichelle Gainer) 2/21/20   The Fashion Photography of Rodney Smith – Reverie and Reality (Leslie Smolan) 2/7/20     Latex Fashion (The Baroness) 1/10/20   Dangerous Beauty: Death and the Maiden (Alexis Palmer Karl) 12/6/19   1950s in Vogue (Rebecca Tuite) 11/22/19  Western Revival (Natty Adams and Dr. Sonya Abrego featuring entertainment by Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Company) 11/8/19    Ralph Lauren (Alan Flusser and Andrew Yamato) 10/18/19  Tartan Talk (Jeffrey Banks and Michael Kaye featuring entertainment by the Scottish Ball Dance Group) 9/27/19    Parish Refashioned (Colleen Hill) 9/13/19   The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty (Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox)

The Kesselring Prize for Playwriting

Members

David Glanstein, Ava Warbrick, David Masello, Colleen Katz, Inge Ivchenko

Kesselring Prize Advisory Board:  James Ijames, Mona Mansour, Lauren Yee, Emily Morse, Alice Palmisano

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

The Kesselring Prize for Playwriting was established in 1980 by Club member Charlotte Kesselring—widow of noted playwright and Club member Joseph Kesselring—to honor and support as yet not nationally recognized playwrights with an honorarium and indirect support towards development of their work. Among its past recipients are Lucas Hnath, Tony Kushner, Nicky Silver, and Anna Deavere Smith—and most recently Inda Craig-Galvàn, Lauren Yee, James Ijames, and Lindsey Ferrentino.
 

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

The Kesselring Prize and its Recipients in the News

Since 1980, the NAC’s Kesselring Prize has been awarded to up and coming playwrights whose nascent work shows great promise. History tells us that Kesselring recipients generally go on to become major forces in the theatre world. The latest to garner kudos for his recent work is James Ijames, who happens to occupy two spots on the Kesselring roster: the Cranefield Award in 2015 for honorable mention; and the 2018 Kesselring Prize. His latest play Fat Ham received a glowing review in The New York Times.  Read that review here.

Other Kesselring Prize Winners in the news are:

• James Ijames Pulitzer Prize winning play Fat Ham, is premiering on Broadway in April 2023.



• Kesselring Judge Stephen Adly Guirgis - Broadway production opening in January 2023 of his Pulitzer Prize winning play Between Riverside and Crazy

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Kesselring Prize Winners

Kesselring Prize Winners 2022 – Candrice Jones 2021 - Matthew Freeman 2020 – Mona Mansour 2019 – Inda Craig Galvàn 2018 – James Ijames 2017 – Lauren Yee 2016 – Lindsey Ferrentino 2015 – Lucas Hnath 2009 – Rajiv Joseph & David Adjmi 2007 – Jordan Harrison 2006 – Mark Schultz 2005 – Deb Margolin 2004 – Tracey Scott Wilson 2003 – Bridget Carpenter 2002 – Melissa James Gibson 2001 – David Lindsay-Abaire 2000 – David Auburn 1999 – Heather McDonald 1998 – Kira Obolensky 1996 – Naomi Wallace 1995 – Amy Freed & Doug Wright 1994 – Nicky Silver 1993 – Anna Deavere Smith 1992 – Marion Issac McClinton 1991 – Tony Kushner 1990 – Elizabeth Egloff & Mel Shapiro 1989 – Jo Carson 1988 – Diane Ney 1987 – Paul Schmidt 1986 – Marlane Meyer 1985 – Bill Elverman 1984 – Phillip Kan Gotanda 1983 – Lynn Alvarez 1981 – Cheryl Hawkins 1980 – Susan Charlotte

Honorable Mention / Cranefield Awards 2015 – James Ijames 2009 – Jenny Schwartz & Alvin McCraney 2007 – Will Eno, Rinne Groff, Marcus Gardley 2006 – Bruce Norris 2005 – Tanya Barfield 2004 – John Belluso 2003 – Lynn Nottage 2002 – Lydia Diamond 2001 – Dael Orlandersmith 2000 – Jessica Hagedorn 1999 – Stephen Dietz 1998 – Erik Ehn 1997 – Kira Obolensky & Edwin Sanchez 1996 – Nilo Cruz 1993 – Han Ong 1992 – Jose Rivera 1991 – Quincy Long & Scott McPherson 1990 – Howard Korder 1989 – Keith Reddin 1988 – Jose Rivera & Frank Hogen 1987 – Januzsz Glowacki 1986 – John Leicht 1985 – Laura Harrington 1983 – Constance Congden 1981 – William Hathaway 1980 – Carol Lashof

Chair

Julie Just
   

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

Our mission is to present literary works of merit to the membership and to the general public through readings and discussions with authors, panel discussions on literary subjects of interest and by introducing promising new authors.

Since 1968, the Committee has recommended distinguished authors to the Board of Governors for the prestigious Medal of Honor for Literature. Past recipients of this award include most of the major literary figures of the 20th and 21st centuries.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor Recipients

1968 Louis Auchincloss 1969 WH Auden 1970 SJ Perelman 1971 Ada Louise Huxtable 1972 Norman Cousins 1973 Anthony Burgess 1974 Eudora Welty 1975 Tennessee Williams 1976 Norman Mailer 1978 Saul Bellow 1979 Allen Ginsberg 1980 Isaac Bashevis Singer 1981 Leon Edel 1982 Barbara Tuchman 1983 James Laughlin 1984 John Updike 1985 Joseph Campbell 1986 Marguerite Yourcenar 1987 Robertson Davies

1988 Carlos Fuentes 1989 James Merrill 1990 Iris Murdoch 1991 Philip Roth 1992 Arthur Miller 1993 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1994 Richard Wilbur 1995 William Styron 1996 E.L. Doctorow 1997 Margaret Atwood 1998 Grace Paley 1999 Toni Morrison 2000 Nadine Gordimer 2001 Tom Wolfe 2002 Edna O’Brien 2003 Sir Tom Stoppard 2004 Shirley Hazzard 2005 Alice Munro 2006 P.D. James

2007 Chinua Achebe 2008 Don DeLillo 2009 Joyce Carol Oates 2010 David McCullough 2011 Edward Albee 2012 Martin Amis 2013 Salman Rushdie 2014 John Ashbery 2015 Paul Auster 2016 Jane Smiley 2017 Alexander McCall Smith 2018 - John McPhee 2019 - John Irving 2020  - Janet Malcolm 2023 - Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Chairs

Brett Galley, Nina Urban
  

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To enhance our club members’ appreciation and awareness of cinema. We do this by presenting exciting programs every month.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor Recipients

1990 Sylvia Sidney

1993 Sidney Lumet

1996 Spike Lee

1997 Whoopi Goldberg

1998 Richard Dreyfuss

2000 John Turturro

2002 Danny Aiello

2004 Paul Sorvino

2005 Peter Bogdanovich

2005 Lynn Redgrave

2007 Olympia Dukakis

2007 Albert Maysles

2009 Norman Jewison

2009 Ang Lee & James Schamus

2009 Arthur Penn

2011 Claire Bloom

2014 Ellen Burstyn

Chair

Jane Cho, Paul Schwendener
  

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

The Music Committee of the National Arts Club enjoys a long and illustrious history of presenting world-class classical and jazz artists as well as extraordinary emerging talent. The Committee has honored dozens of legendary artists with the Club’s Medal of Honor, including Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Barbara Cook, Wynton Marsalis, and Leonard Bernstein.

In addition to presenting a regular series of concerts in the Grand Gallery, this season the Committee focuses on a group of start-up opera companies in New York, offering performance opportunities to the young singers, designers, dancers, and directors who are changing the way opera is presented in our city.

The Music Committee collaborates with other committees to highlight musical elements in other art forms. One of our most popular programs was an event with the Literary Committee in which we presented soprano Amy Burton and pianist John Musto singing music of Kurt Weill, interspersed with readings by the author of new book about Weill and his creative partner Bertolt Brecht.

The Music Committee also functions as a resource for the Club’s management when engaging musical talent for major NAC events such New Year’s Eve, the Red Ball, and Opening and Closing Nights.

We welcome interest from NAC members who share a love of music, and particularly those with connections or experience in the music world.
 

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor Recipients

2021  Christian McBride 2016  Alan Gilbert 2012 Jazz at Lincoln Center and Mr. Wynton Marsalis 2011 Paddy Moloney 2009 Paquito D'Rivera 2008 James Moody 2007 Lorin Maazel 2007 Joshua Bell 2007 Ornette Coleman 2006 Marilyn Horne 2006 Barbara Carroll 2005 Joseph Volpe 2005 Marian McPartland 2005 Radio Station WBGO 2004 The Juilliard String Quartet 2004 Billy Taylor 2004 Dave Brubeck 2004 George Wein 2003 Sir James Galway 2002 John Corigliano 2002 Jon Faddis 2001 Roberta Peters 2000 Daniel Barenboim 1999 Emanuel Ax   1999 Benny Carter 1998 Robert Merrill   1998 Sir George Shearing OBE 1997 André Previn 1996 Kurt Masur 1995 James D. Wolfensohn   1995 JVC Company 1994 Itzhak Perlman 1993 Placido Domingo 1992 James Levine 1991 Gian Carlo Menotti 1991 Dick Hyman 1990 Zubin Mehta 1989 Marian Anderson 1988 Mr. Isaac Stern

1987 Gerard R. Schwarz   1987 Benny Goodman 1986 Frederica von Stade   1986 Radio Station WQXR 1985  Morton Gould 1984 Martin Bookspan 1983 Schuyler G. Chapin 1982 The New York Philharmonic and Mr. Amyas Ames 1981 Gunther Schuller 1980 Charles Wadsworth 1979 Robert Sherman 1978 Avery Fisher 1977 Arthur Fiedler 1976 Jack Beeson 1975 Alice Tully 1974  Van Cliburn 1973 Sir Rudolf Bing 1972 Edward Cramer, BMI 1971  Jouett Shouse 1971 Dr. George F. Seuffert 1970 Dr. Peter Mennin 1969 Richard Rodgers 1968 Leonard Bernstein 1967 Clifton J. Muir, NFMC 1966 Lytle Hull 1966 Richard Korn 1965 Stanley Adams, ASCAP 1964 Dr. William Schuman 1963 Paul Creston 1963 Mme. Olga Koussevitsky 1962 Dr. Howard Hanson 1961 August Belmont 1960 Thomas Scherman 1959 Minnie Guggenheimer 1958 Julius Rudel 1957 Dr. Herman Neumann 1938 & 1913 Dr. Walter Damrosch

 

Chair

Jason Rand
 

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

The Photography Committee focuses on presenting and showcasing contemporary photography and its masters.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor

2018 - Hiroshi Sugimoto

Chairs

Margaret Janicek, Charles Snider

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

A roundtable allows all to have an equal place at the table. This idea of inclusivity will be the driving force behind all events. This concept does not dramatically change but rather refines the focus of the committee’s work. Specifically, the eclectic nature of the committee’s interests, that all art forms can be investigated for events, will continue but with an emphasis and welcome to art forms and artists who need more exposure to the public to gain a foothold. This would include artists of various ethnicities as well as newer forms of expression. As is the norm, the Roundtable would work in tandem with other committees for any co-sponsorship opportunities. The traditional Roundtable Exhibit would continue, but member-invited artists would include those whose work speaks to an experience outside of the mainstream and help the traditional Exhibit evolve into a breakthrough exhibit that includes New Artists. The goal is that the Roundtable will become a more proactive committee, looking for ways to bring more varied experiences to club members and the public. A result of Roundtable’s renewed mission will be increased exposure and introduction of the club to a wider audience of potential members, younger members, and new club leaders.

The Annual Roundtable Exhibition

This annual Roundtable Exhibition exhibition brings together established and emerging artists, offering them an opportunity to share their aesthetic explorations and latest accomplishments. The works encompass a variety of genres, materials, and media and are sure to create an inspiring installation

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].
  

Chairs

Steven Goldberg, David Masello
  

Members

Ramona Bechtos, Debra Ann Byrd, Paul Schwendener, Ellen Smith Isrealson, Marcia Taranto, Linda Selman, Dorothy Wiggins
  

Role in furthering the NAC Mission

To foster the appreciation of Theatre Arts by showcasing the work of actors, playwrights and directors. To bring high quality traditional works and new pieces before the membership and the public which may range from play readings to full staged productions.

If you are a member of The National Arts Club and are interested in joining our committee, please email us at [email protected].

Medal of Honor Recipients

1987 Patricia Neal

1989 Pauline Collins

1990 Peter Ustinov

1991 Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn

1993 Sidney Lumet

1994 Edward Albee

1995 Andrew Lloyd Webber

1996 Nigel Hawthorne

1997 Christopher Plummer

1998 Richard Dreyfus

2000 Tina Packer and Shakespeare & Company

2007 Albert Maysles

2008 Lin-Manuel Miranda

2008 Marion Seldes

2015 Jack O’Brien

2017 John Lahr

2023 Entertainment Community Fund