Renowned documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will be honored with the inaugural Commonwealth Prize by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the museum announced. The award, the VMHC’s highest honor, recognizes exemplary patriotic service or lasting contributions to the history and culture of Virginia.

The prize, created as part of the museum’s multiyear commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, is literally and figuratively made for Burns. A custom silver medal, handcrafted by artisans at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, draws on Virginia iconography and the museum’s historic seal. The front features a silhouette of the Commonwealth adorned with dogwood blossoms and the motto “Conservatio. Disciplina. Pietas.” (“Preservation. Education. Service.”). Its reverse bears the museum’s historic facade and motto, “Condere Et Tradere” (“To Build and Pass On”).

“Ken Burns is one of the great storytellers and educators of our time. He has transformed the way Americans engage with our past,” said Jamie Bosket, president and CEO of the VMHC. 

Burns, whose career spans nearly 50 years, is known for documentaries including “The War,” “Baseball,” “The Civil War” and “Jazz.” His work has earned 17 Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and, in 2022, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

His most recent project, “The American Revolution,” highlights Virginia’s role in the nation’s founding, as did a previous series. The documentary explores how the 13 British colonies won independence and established a new government that inspired democratic movements worldwide.

The Commonwealth Prize will be presented during a ceremony at the VMHC on Feb. 5. Event and ticket information is available at VirginiaHistory.org.