Frank Gehry is the first architect to win the Harvard Arts Medal

Frank Gehry will make a visit to Harvard University this April to accept the 2016 Harvard Arts Medal. As its name indicates, the achievement award honors a distinguished Harvard or Radcliffe graduate or faculty member for art excellence as well as notable contribution to education and the public good.

The award is usually given to artists of various disciplines including actors Matt Damon and Tommy Lee Jones, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, playwright Christopher Durang, poet John Ashbery, and author Margaret Atwood, to name a few. Gehry is the first from the field of architecture to receive the award.

Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust will present the medal to Gehry at a ceremony on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 4 p.m. at Farkas Hall, 10-12 Holyoke St., Cambridge.

During the ceremony, Gehry will take part in a discussion moderated by actor John Lithgow. Admission is free, but tickets are required. Tickets can be acquired at the Harvard Box Office at Smith Campus Center. Harvard affiliates (2 per person, with valid ID) can obtain tickets starting Tuesday, April 19; ticket distribution for the public (2 per person) begins April 21.

The ceremony also marks the official opening of Harvard's 2016 ARTS FIRST festival, which will feature more than 200 creative arts events for the public on April 28 - May 1.