National Black Arts Festival honors her with its Fine Art + Fashion Living Legend Award following her historic second Oscar.
On the night of March 12, 2023, coinciding with her second Oscar win, Ruth E. Carter was celebrated by Atlanta’s National Black Arts Festival (NBAF), which subsequently honored her with its Fine Art + Fashion Living Legend Award.[4] The recognition highlighted her three‑decade career and her barrier‑breaking status as the first Black woman to win two Academy Awards.
NBAF’s award situates Carter within a continuum of Black visual and performance artists whose work shapes cultural life beyond Hollywood. By naming her a "Living Legend," the institution emphasized that costume design is a form of fine art, integral to storytelling and identity formation in Black communities.
Historically, this honor demonstrates how Black‑led organizations are documenting and amplifying the achievements of Black women in technical and design fields, not only in front of the camera. For women’s-history archiving, the award reinforces that Carter’s influence spans film, fashion, and art worlds, and that her Oscar milestones are being integrated into community‑based narratives of Black excellence.