PROVIDENCE — Trinity Repertory Company has won a special National Pell Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, among the 12th-annual awards honoring the arts on the local and national level.

The repertory company, currently home to 15 actors, joins the many over the years that have been chosen for the awards named in tribute to former U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island.

Previous Pell Award honorees include Jason Robards, Arthur Miller, Beverly Sills, Stephen Sondheim, Toni Morrison, Robert Redford, Maurice Sendak, Jane Alexander, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and Chita Rivera.

Since the 1960s, according to a news release, resident acting companies around the country have built a special relationship with their communities, with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts established through Pell’s initiative.

Trinity Rep is the last large long-standing resident acting company left in the country. In its 43-year history, the theater has presented 52 world premieres, mounted national and international tours and, through its graduate-level theater arts conservatory, trained hundreds of new actors and directors, the news release said.

The Rhode Island Pell Award winners will be announced shortly.

The Pell Awards Gala will be held May 30 at Trinity Rep. Honorary chairs for the event are Governor Carcieri, Mayor David N. Cicilline and former Sen. and Mrs. Claiborne Pell.

Tickets are $250 or $500 for patrons and corporate sponsor tables are also available. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit artistic programming at Trinity Rep.

For information and reservations contact, Trinity Rep at (401) 521-1100, ext. 237.