Photo: Margot Schulman

Wallis Annenberg, chairman of the Annenberg Foundation and a Sunnylands trustee, was one of two people chosen as recipients of the inaugural Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit on June 5.

Ms. Annenberg, who accepted the award at the Kennedy Center’s annual black-tie Spring Gala in New York, was honored with the Distinguished Philanthropist Award. Theaster Gates, the Chicago-based conceptual artist, won the Citizen Artist Award. The star-studded event, honoring the late singer Marvin Gaye, was hosted by Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg.

The Kennedy Center created the new awards in honor of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and their contributions to the integration of arts in America.