John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, is this year's recipient of the "Edward McDowell" Medal, an honor that previously it was given to Stephen Sondheim and Toni Morrison. The revolutionary artist, director and musician receives his Lifetime Achievement Award, the Associated Press reported.
“There was never anyone like her; there has never been a job like hers,” MacDowell board chair Nell Painter said in a statement Sunday. “For some seven decades, she has rewarded the eye, provoked thought, inspired feminists and championed migrants through works of the wide imagination. Consistently fresh and relevant, her uniquely powerful work speaks to our times, so sorely in need of her leitmotif: Peace.”
Ono's son, Sean Ono Lennon, said in a statement that the medal was an “incredible honor”.
“The history and list of past recipients is truly remarkable. It makes me very proud to see her art appreciated and celebrated in this way,” he said.
Ono, 91, has made few public appearances in recent years and is not expected to attend the award ceremony in July at MacDowell's campus in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Her music manager, David Newgarden, will accept the award on her behalf.
Ono first came to prominence as part of the avant-garde Fluxus movement of the 1960s, then rose to international prominence after meeting John Lennon, to whom she was married from 1969 until his death in 1980 Their collaborations included songs like "Give Peace a Chance,” “Imagine” and “Merry Christmas (the war is over)".
Over the past 40 years, Ohno has had a busy career as a visual and recording artist with albums such as “Season of Glass,” “Starpeace” and “Take me to the land of hell.”
She was recently the subject of a career retrospective at London's Tate Modern.