Presidential Proclamation -- National Arts and Humanities Month, 2016

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary



For Immediate Release September 28, 2016

NATIONAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES MONTH, 2016

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Throughout history, the arts and humanities have

been at the forefront of progress. In diverse mediums and

methods -- whether through the themes of a novel, the movement

of a dancer, or a monologue on a stage -- the arts enrich our

souls, inspire us to chase our dreams, and challenge us to see

things through a different lens. During National Arts and

Humanities Month, we celebrate the important role the arts and

humanities have played in shaping the American narrative.

Our achievements as a society and a culture go

hand-in-hand. The arts embody who we are as a people and have

long helped drive the success of our country. They provoke

thought and encourage our citizenry to reach new heights

in creativity and innovation; they lift up our identities,

connecting what is most profound within us to our collective

human experiences.

In seeking to break down barriers and challenge our

assumptions, we must continue promoting and prioritizing the

arts and humanities, especially for our young people. In many

ways, the arts and humanities reflect our national soul.

They are central to who we are as Americans -- as dreamers and

storytellers, creators and visionaries. By investing in the

arts, we can chart a course for the future in which the threads

of our common humanity are bound together with creative empathy

and openness. When we engage with the arts, we instill

principles that, at their core, make us truer to ourselves.

This month, we acknowledge all those who have proudly and

passionately dedicated their lives to these diverse, beautiful,

and often challenging forms of expression. In our increasingly

global economy, we recognize the power of the arts and

humanities to connect people around the world. Be it through

the pen of a poet, the voice of a singer, or the canvas of a

painter, let us continue to harness the unparalleled ways the

arts and humanities bring people together.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 2016 as National Arts and Humanities

Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe

this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs

to celebrate the arts and the humanities in America.

2

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord

two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the

United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.

BARACK OBAMA