April 2007 Newsletter

2007 Texas Medal of Arts Awards is a great success!

Alvin Ailey’s Revelations and Ray Benson and Friends’ A Ride with Bob all on the same stage. It was a spectacular celebration for very worthy recipients of the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Awards (listed below). Bob Schieffer was on hand as emcee to personally present the award to his mentor, Walter Cronkite. Van Cliburn and Tommy Lee Jones, previous recipients, also presented awards to our honorees. Many thanks to our major sponsors, AT&T, Anheuser Busch, Blue Bell Creameries, Summit Alliance, Texas Monthly and more. Honorees were also toasted across the state with events in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. It was a Texas size celebration raising dollars and awareness for the importance of the arts and arts education initiatives statewide.

Aaronetta Pierce and Debbie Montford, Texas Medal of Arts Awards Co-Chairs made the event a stunning reality. We cannot thank them enough for their tireless commitment to this event and the arts in Texas. Many thanks to the CE Group and all others that worked to bring “7 events in 31 hours” to fruition.

An exciting component of the Texas Medal of Arts Awards is participation by our talented Young Masters. Young Masters played a significant role this year by exhibiting art at the VIP Legislative Reception, performing on the stage of the Paramount and at various city events, and attending most of the gala events in Austin. It was a treat for all to see our “Rising Stars” mingling with our “Texas Legends”.

For information about the event and honorees, visit http://www.txculturaltrust.org/tmaa.

2007 Texas Medal of Arts Awards Honorees

Walter Cronkite, Houston - Lifetime Achievement
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Rogers - Dance
Paul Baker, Hereford - Arts Education
Sandra Brown, Waco - Literary
Ornette Coleman, Fort Worth - Music
Diana and Bill Hobby, Houston - Individual Arts Patron
Judith Ivey, El Paso - Theatre Arts
Jesús Moroles, Corpus Christi - Visual Arts
Neiman Marcus, Dallas (Burt Tansky accepting) - Corporate Arts Patron
Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Fort Worth (Ed Bass accepting) - Foundation Arts Patron
Bill Wittliff, Taft/Austin - Multimedia

A Message from the Chair

Greetings everyone!

We are still basking in the glow of the success of our fourth Texas Medal of the Arts celebration in Austin on April 2nd and 3rd. Our special thanks go to our Honorary Chairs, Governor Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick and Mrs. Nadine Craddick. Our tribute to 11 outstanding Texas legends at the Paramount Theatre was a night of grand celebration, featuring the music and dance of our great Texas culture. Our thanks go out to all our many sponsors and individuals for making this event so spectacular and for raising significant funds for the arts in Texas. May I also salute our hosts for the Pre-Event City Receptions, Leslie and Jack Blanton, Jr.-Houston, the Austin Committee and the Pease Mansion, Terry and Ron Unkefer-Dallas and Laurie and Len Roberts-Fort Worth. My sincere thanks to our Co-Chairs, Debbie Montford and Aaronetta Pierce, for their tireless work and commitment to this event and the arts in Texas.

Our second annual meeting of Texas Women for the Arts will take place on May 1st from 2 to 4 p.m. at the home of Cherie Flores in Houston’s River Oaks area. This is a members-only gathering where our annual grants are decided by the membership. We would like to encourage all members to recruit a new member and bring them to the reception. Our Grants Committee is in the process of narrowing the grant proposals down to the top 3 to 5 that will be presented for the vote. Membership is simple, just $1,000 a year for three years and there is only one meeting a year. Last year we awarded $90,000! Come be a part of this exciting group and make a difference for the arts in Texas. Our mission is to nurture the artist in every child---together we can make that happen.

Warm Regards,

Donna Axum Whitworth
Chair

The first ever ARTS & PARKS Golf Tournament

The Texas Cultural Trust is very excited to join forces with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to host the ARTS & PARKS Golf Tournament, presented by AT&T. This new event will take place on Friday, May 11th at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Bastrop on the Wolfdancer Golf Course. For Golfers, there will be a shotgun start at 1 p.m. with a hole in one contest for a 2007 Toyota Tundra CrewMax. For Non-Golfers, there will be an afternoon tour of Austin arts. As the sun begins to go down, guests will enjoy a Lonestar Cookout, entertainment, and silent auction. Singer-songwriter Bruce Robison will perform, and the Birds of Prey Conservancy will present a demonstration.

For information on how you can participate, please visit http://www.txculturaltrust.org/golftournament.html.

Annual Meeting for Texas Women for the Arts

Texas Women for the Arts will hold their annual meeting at the beautiful River Oaks residence of Cherie Flores on May 1, 2007 in Houston. The event is for members only, and grant applications will be reviewed at that meeting, and the members will select who will receive funding. Join by May 1, come to Houston and help select the grant recipients! Special thanks to the Houston Host Committee of Linda Gale White, Ginger Blanton, Leslie Blanton, and Sandy Godfrey for putting together this exciting event. To date, 123 women have joined statewide. Join us as we Awaken and Nurture the Artist in Every Texas Child.

Texas Women for the Arts is a giving program uniting the financial forces of Texas women in funding initiatives for the arts and arts education throughout the state. The purpose of this giving circle is to raise funds and awareness to support the programs administered by the Texas Commission on the Arts and other arts education initiatives. To find out how to join Texas Women for the Arts, please click here.

strataTX is on the Austin scene

Our new young professionals group has been busy working the Austin scene. After a very successful Kick-Off Party in November at the Design Center of Austin, with over 300 of Austin’s hippest young professionals in attendance, strataTX continues to show its members the best of Austin creativity. Events thus far in 2007 have included a reception for Medal of Arts recipient Bill Wittliff at the Pease Mansion, a co-hosted event with the Austin Museum of Digital Art at the Mohawk, and the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Awards at the Paramount Theatre.

The rest of 2007 promises to be equally exciting. May 8th strataTX members will tour the construction site of the Long Center for the Performing Arts with Catalyst 8. June 28th members will be invited to an opening night party of Yellow Tape Construction Co’s next dance performance, But I Could Do That. Stay tuned to the strataTX website to find out how you can join in the fun – www.stratatx.org.

UT Performing Arts Center - Changing Young Lives through the Arts

On April 2nd, students from seven high schools in the Austin, Round Rock, and Del Valle school districts sharpened their dance technique under instruction by one of the nation’s top dancers. Dwana Smallwood of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater not only imparted her extensive dance knowledge, but also left the students with nuggets of inspiration to achieve their goals. The class was organized by Judith Rhedin, University of Texas Performing Arts Center (UTPAC) Community Relations Director, in partnership with the Texas Medal of Arts Awards. Alvin Ailey was the 2007 Dance Award recipient, and the company performed at the Awards Ceremony and Show at the Paramount on April 3rd.

UTPAC has created a LifeLong Learning Program in partnership with Del Valle ISD to create the Performing Arts and Academic Collaborative (PA2C), a six-year, in-depth arts education initiative that shares the performing arts experience with 1,200 students, many of whom may otherwise never have this opportunity.

The program’s participants are 7th and 9th graders who will attend three youth performances each year until they graduate, interacting with artists from around the world and discussing their experiences in their English and Language Arts classes. The PA2C started last fall with an introduction to Mexican folk music by Los Cenzontles and an interactive contemporary dance performance with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. One 7th grader said it best, “Because I haven't seen these kinds of moves, I thought I wouldn't like it… but I LOVED IT!”

For more information about the UTPAC, please visit www.utpac.org.

Texas Commission on the Arts Announces Artists to Represent State

The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced its appointments to the positions of state poet laureate, state musician, state two-dimensional artist and state three-dimensional artist.

The 2007 appointees include Texas Poet Laureate Steven Fromholz of Kopperl, Texas State Musician Dale Watson of Austin, Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist Lee Herring of Rockwall, and Texas State Three-Dimensional Artist David Keens of Arlington. The 2008 appointees include Texas Poet Laureate Larry Thomas of Houston, Texas State Musician Shelley King of Austin, Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist Janet Eager Krueger of Encinal and Texas State Three-Dimensional Artist Damian Priour of Austin.

“State artists demonstrate the essence of what art in Texas is all about,” Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, chair of the House of Representative's Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism said. “The work of these artists, and others like them, ensures that art and culture thrives in our great state and we are pleased to honor these talented men and women with this recognition.”

The 2007 – 2008 Texas State Artists were recognized by the Legislature in Austin on April 19th with House and Senate Resolutions. Afterwards, the Texas Cultural Trust Council hosted a luncheon for the Texas State Artists.

Any Texas citizen can submit up to three nominations per artist category; however, self-nominations are not accepted. The Texas Commission on the Arts reviewed all nominations and developed a list of finalists for submission. The committee, composed of members appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House, made the final selections.

Young Master Spotlight - Jesse Caldwell

Jesse Caldwell is currently a senior at Center High School in Center, Texas, which is located in east Texas about 60 miles from Marshall. Last summer, the Young Masters scholarship program assisted Jesse in attending the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) Summer Seminars in Savannah, GA. Here’s what he had to say about the experience of attending an arts intensive that opened his eyes to other artists’ aesthetics:

“Personally, I have undergone a great change. I have never been socially active, but being with new friends and strangers for two weeks opened doors for me and allowed me to take in more artistic ideas through different people’s views. With instruction and focus on how the mind perceives images and how to most accurately produce those images, I have tuned my eyes and hands together. This has dramatically helped my drawing skills.”

We recently learned from his mother that Jesse has been accepted to attend Savannah College of Art and Design as a freshman and has been awarded an $18,000 per year scholarship! Jesse and his parents credit the Young Masters program for helping him to achieve his success by opening the door to SCAD with the Summer Seminar.

We wish Jesse all the best as he goes for his dream!

To learn more about the Young Masters program, please click here.

Texans for the Arts Advocates for All the Arts

Texans for the Arts, the official arts advocacy organization for Texas, has been busy during this 2007 Legislative Session. Texans for the Arts support the Texas Commission on the Arts and protects the Hotel/Motel Tax allocation that provides substantial dollars for the arts in many cities. Every arts supporter in the State should be a member. The cost is minimal, the impact great. Please consider joining to show the strength and breadth of support for the arts. You can make a difference. For more information on how to join, visit www.texansforthearts.com.