July 2006 Newsletter

Letter from the Chair

Dear Friends,

Exciting things are happening at the Texas Cultural Trust! Last September, we launched our second giving circle, Texas Women for the Arts. On May 11th, we reached our first year goal of 100 members from all over the state. Our goal is to double that before our next meeting in May 2007. Gene Jones (Mrs. Jerry) hosted over 55 of our members in their beautiful home in Dallas. The annual meeting each year serves as our grant award selection meeting and the election of officers. I am pleased to say that six grant recipients were awarded $90,000 from our voting members. The following new officers were elected: Chair – Patsy Donosky of Dallas, Membership Chair – Rinda Medary of Fort Worth, Grants Chair – Debbie Gutierrez of El Paso, Nominations Chair – Jean Roach of Fort Worth, and Programs Chair – Linda Gale White of Houston. My special thanks go to Gene Jones for hosting and Patsy Donosky and Linda Gibbons for chairing the event. Let me encourage each one of you to ask a friend to join – just $1000 a year for three years. What a difference we can make as women.

The Texas Cultural Trust Board of Directors and staff are also busy planning the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Awards scheduled for April 2nd and 3rd in Austin. I am pleased to announce that nationally known journalist, Bob Schieffer, has agreed to emcee this exciting event honoring outstanding artists, writers, performers, and art philanthropists from the great state of Texas. AT&T will again be our Title Sponsor. If your company would like to be part of this celebration by becoming a sponsor, please contact Amy Barbee, Executive Director at (512) 478-5289. Mark your calendar to attend this fabulous, star-studded event.

Sincerely yours,

Donna Axum Whitworth

Texas Women for the Arts distributes $90,000 in grants

Patsy Donosky, Gene Jones, Donna Axum Whitworth, Marsland Moncrief

On May 11, 2006 the first annual meeting of Texas Women for the Arts gathered in Dallas at the home of Mrs. Jerry (Gene) Jones to choose the recipients of their combined resources in support for the arts and arts education in Texas. Their vision is “Awaken and nurture the artist in every Texas child.” The intent of this essential giving circle is to create a restricted fund to be used for arts and arts education programs administered by the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Texas Cultural Trust and other qualifying agencies. Membership requires a commitment of $1000 a year for three years. As a result, each year, the Texas Women for the Arts will have the opportunity to choose which programs their dollars will support.

The 2006 inaugural recipients of $90,000 in funding from Texas Women for the Arts are:
Texas Cultural Trust: Adventures in the ARTS $ 20,000
Young Masters Program $ 10,000
Texas Commission on the Arts: Summer Reading Program $ 30,000
Start with the Arts $ 15,000
Texas Music Office: Music Business 101 Seminars $ 5,000
Texas Film Commission: Filmmaking in Spanish $ 10,000

To find out how you can change the lives of children through Texas Women for the Arts, please click here.

Adventures in the ARTS will be in the Texas Book Festival

Adventures in the the ARTS will be featured in the Children’s Demonstration Tent of the Texas Book Festival to be held at the State Capitol in Austin October 27-29, 2006. Kids and adults alike will be able to participate in fun arts activities based on the book. To find out more information about the Texas Book Festival, visit www.texasbookfestival.org.

In other Adventures in the ARTS news, the Texas Cultural Trust was awarded a $7,000 grant from Applied Materials to purchase books for 4th graders in Manor ISD. We will partner with the elementary schools in Manor to host an Adventures in the ARTS day September 19, 2006 when books will be distributed surrounded by fun activities, including an author visit.

Order your copy of Adventures in the ARTS today online at www.adventuresinthearts.com or place your order over the phone at (512) 478-5289 or toll free at (877) 651-8282.

TCA presents its biennial conference - Texas Arts Exchange: Tools for Success

Come together this summer in Austin with colleagues at the local, state, and national levels to experience a statewide call for action. TCA will convene its biennial conference, Texas Arts Exchange: Tools for Success from August 17 - 19 in Austin at the Omni Hotel downtown. Participate in outlining strategies and using tools to build communities that are vibrant, inclusive, and economically prosperous. Registration for the conference is available online at www.arts.state.tx.us/tools. Full conference registration is $150 per person and the day rate is $75.

If you are an arts administrator, board member or city commissioner, educator, artist, funder, public official, or advocate devoted to using the arts as a community-building tool, then this is the conference you must attend. Come to Austin and discover how and what tools to use to make the arts increase civic engagement in communities all across Texas.

SMU Meadows School of the Arts and Museum receive $33 million grant from the Meadows Foundation

Meadows Foundation has pledged a total of $33 million to the Algur H. Meadows School of the Arts and its Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University. This historic gift is the largest single grant ever made by the Foundation to any organization and the largest single financial gift ever received by SMU. This makes The Meadows Foundation the largest donor in SMU history.

The $33 million gift includes $25 million to support goals and programs of the Meadows Museum, housing one of the finest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain. The remaining $8 million is designated for the Meadows School of the Arts, specifically to support faculty and student recruitment and enrichment, as well as to maintain the school’s facilities.

“It was the intent of Algur H. Meadows, who established the Foundation, that the school and museum bearing his name would be of great distinction,” said Linda P. Evans, president and CEO of The Meadows Foundation. “In keeping with his wishes, the directors of the Foundation make this grant to further the reputation of both institutions. This gift is of historic importance to us, and it clearly reflects the confidence we have in SMU’s vision for the Meadows School of the Arts and the Meadows Museum. The grant is specifically designed to provide the margin of excellence to enable the school and the museum to be the very best and to broaden their outreach to the community.”

Bob Schieffer to emcee the 2007 TMAA; Visit the new Texas Medal of the Arts website

We are honored to announce that Bob Schieffer, anchor of the CBS Evening News, will emcee the 2007 Awards ceremony. Be sure to mark your calendars for April 2 and 3, 2007 so you don’t miss this exciting event!

In other TMAA news, we are pleased to unveil the new website for the Texas Medal of Arts Awards. One of the exciting new features is a timeline where you can read through the bios of our list of esteemed honorees. Also, find out about sponsorship opportunities and sign up for email updates. Visit http://www.txculturaltrust.org/tmaa/ today!