A Message from the Chair

The State of the Arts! As I drive down the highway and see the popular specialty license plate on hundreds of cars, I am reminded that the arts are very important to Texas in regard to arts education, cultural enjoyment and our states' economy. It has been my great privilege to serve as Chair of the Texas Cultural Trust for the past two years. As my tenure draws to a close, I would like to first congratulate our new Executive Committee consisting of Leslie Blanton, Chair, Wayne Fisher, Vice-Chair, Anthony Hall, Treasurer and Linda Gibbons, Secretary. I have also greatly enjoyed working with our staff in accomplishing so many new objectives.

Over the past two years we have focused on expanding our Board of Directors and now have 23 members representing a large majority of our geographic regions. Under the umbrella of the Trust, two new groups have been launched. Texas Women for the Arts has grown to a membership of 150 women throughout the state in two short years. This women's giving circle has made grants to numerous worthy organizations totaling $210,000. Under the new leadership of Linda Gale White, Chair, we hope to double the membership, thus doubling the granting capabilities. strataTX was founded last fall in Austin, with the goal of expanding to other cities in Texas. This dynamic group offers young professionals an opportunity to network, while at the same time exploring and enjoying their common interest in creative activities.

The 2007 Texas Medal of the Arts was a crowning achievement and an exciting celebration of the contributions of 11 legendary Texans, corporations and foundations. Governor Rick Perry placed the medal of honor on notables such as Lifetime Achievement winner, Walter Cronkite, and Pulitzer Prize winner Ornette Coleman. The dedication of these people and organizations to the arts in Texas has truly made an impact internationally. This biennial fundraising event grossed over $988,000!

Over the past two years we have worked with Big Thought of Dallas on a perception campaign that will be launched this fall 2007 to further arts education through awareness. Our Young Masters Program selected 27 talented young people to receive scholarships for specialized training in their artistic field of expertise. April 2006 we hosted the Inaugural Young Masters luncheon where they received certificates from Nadine Craddick.

Thanks to a grant from Applied Materials, 420 Adventures in the ARTS books (a Texas Cultural Trust published arts education novel) were distributed in Manor ISD, and $40,000 in grants from the Texas Women for the Arts will allow for the distribution of 2,400 books to economically-challenged schools in Texas.

Last but not least, Curtis Meadows of the Meadows Foundation in Dallas facilitated a Board Retreat in December 2006, which will serve as the foundation for a strategic planning process to begin later this summer.

So much accomplished, yet so much that can be done to strengthen and enrich the arts in our great state of Texas. My challenge to all of you is to catch our vision of a stronger Texas with a stronger State of the Arts!

Sincerely,

Donna Axum Whitworth
Chair

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Texas Women for the Arts Give $120,000 to Arts Education Programs

On May 1st, over 50 Texas Women for the Arts members gathered in Houston at the home of Cherie Flores for their annual meeting. Seven deserving arts education projects were selected by the members to receive funding totaling $120,000.

Also at this meeting, the new slate of officers for 2007-08 was named.

Chair - Linda Gale White of Houston
Membership Co-Chair - Ginger Blanton of Houston
Membership Co-Chair - Sharon McCullough of Dallas
Grants Co-Chair - Lou Ann Blaylock of Fort Worth
Grants Co-Chair - Robin Gilliland Hall of Amarillo
Nominations Chair - Gene Jones of Dallas
Programs Chair - Joci Straus of San Antonio

Next year's annual meeting will be in San Antonio. You don't want to miss out on being a part of this influential group of women who strive to Awaken and nurture the artist in every Texas child. For more information on how to join, please click here.

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Governor Perry Signs Texas' First Ever Film Incentive Bill

With Governor Perry's signature of House Bill 1634 on June 7th, Texas' Moving Image Incentive Program became law. Texas now offers financial incentives to producers of films, television programs and commercials, and video games. It's expected that this new initiative will go a long way in retaining and recovering production business lost to other states.

The gist of the program: the State of Texas now offers grants equal to 5% of what producers spend in Texas, including wages to Texas residents. It gets better: if at least 25% of the shooting days are spent in Texas' underused areas (i.e., anyplace other than Austin or Dallas), the grant goes up to 6.25%. To qualify, features and television must spend at least $1 million in Texas; for commercials and video games, the minimum spend is $100,000. At least 80% of the production days must be in Texas, and at least 70% of the total number of cast/crew/extras must be Texas residents.

Five weeks into the program, the Texas Film Commission has received 13 applications, from projects as diverse as the Fox TV series PRISON BREAK (in the Dallas area) and the NBC series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (Austin); the BBC series WIRE IN THE BLOOD (Austin and central Texas); and the new History Channel series live-action and animated dinosaur show JURASSIC FIGHT CLUB (entirely produced in San Antonio).

All the details are available at www.texasfilmcommission.com. With a cash return on in-state spending; sales tax exemptions; fee-free use of State-owned locations (effective September 1); and the proven skills of Texas crews, vendors and actors, Texas is more open for business than ever.

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Houston Symphony's Ima Hogg Young Artist Wows Sold-Out Audience

For 31 years, the Houston Symphony has presented the annual Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition to encourage and advance the careers of talented young classical musicians. Budding soloists from all over the world enter the competition, one of the few open to players of any instrument. It is named for Miss Ima Hogg, one of the founders of the Houston Symphony. A group of semi-finalists pay their own way to Houston to compete in the final rounds, with the final four playing with the full orchestra in front of a live audience. Three judges, always including a music critic from a national newspaper and a conductor from another orchestra, as well as a prominent member of the national music world, make the final choice.

This year's winner was 20-year old Kwan Yi. A native of South Korea, Yi currently studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. As first prize winner, Yi received a $5,000 check and the opportunity to play with the Houston Symphony at the annual Houston Chronicle Dollar Concert. That concert, this year conducted by Houston Symphony music director Hans Graf, attracted a sold out crowd to Jones Hall in Houston who gave Yi a standing ovation for his performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2.

For more information about the Houston Symphony, please visit www.houstonsymphony.org.

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strataTX - Join Online and Get Involved

strataTX members had the privilege of touring the construction site for the Long Center for the Performing Arts to open March 2008. In addition to going on an exclusive tour, strataTX members mingled with Catalyst 8, the young professionals group of the Long Center. And last month, strataTX hosted an opening night reception for Yellow Tape Construction Co's But I Could Do That. Not only were members treated to a dance extravaganza, but the Frank Mills improv troupe warmed up the audience. If you don't want to miss out on future events, you can now JOIN ONLINE!

To give our members the best opportunity to get involved with strataTX, we are proud to announce our new committee structure. Now members can match their personal skills and expertise with one of our committees. Descriptions of the following committees can be found on the strataTX website at www.stratatx.org/Committees.html.

Community Relations Chair - Allen Chen
Events Chair - Katy Daiger
Member Recruitment Chair - Robin McShaffry
Member Services Chair - Jessica Tata
Sponsorship Chair - Nick Ducoff

If you'd like to join one of the above committees, please contact Jennifer Wijangco at jennifer@txculturaltrust.org.

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Outcome of 80th Legislative Session for Texas Commission on the Arts

The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is pleased to report the 80th Legislative session ended with an increase in funding as well as a six-year agency renewal as a result of the Sunset Review process.

TCA's FY 2008/09 budget represents an overall increase of five percent. As TCA begins the new fiscal year on September 1st, the agency will have $3.8 million to distribute as grants to the field as compared to $3.3 million in FY 2007.

On June 15th, Governor Perry signed HB 2460 by Rep. Flynn. This bill is the Sunset legislation reauthorizing the continuation of the Texas Commission on the Arts for another six years. The Sunset staff report originally recommended a renewal period of the standard twelve years. However, at the time this bill was introduced, it included a renewal period of only two years as a result of action taken by the Sunset Advisory Commission. During the legislative process, the bill was amended to the final six-year renewal period. Senator Deuell authored SB 901 as the companion bill.

A bill that did not progress through the Legislative process was HB 3949 by Rep. Swinford. This bill would have resulted in the transfer of the Texas Commission on the Arts to the Office of the Governor and the dedication of certain sales and use tax and franchise tax revenue to the Music, Film, and Arts Office operating fund. Senator Deuell authored SB 1376 as the companion to this bill.

While this summarizes the major legislative events of the 80th session, several other bills were passed that will impact TCA or the arts and cultural industries in Texas. A complete list of these bills is available by contacting TCA's marketing director at gaye@arts.state.tx.us.

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NAMAC Conference Comes to Austin, Texas

The Austin School of Film, Motion Media Arts Center, and the Austin Conference Steering Committee are honored to present the 18th National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) Conference. The Frontier is Here: Create, Engage, Act will take place in Austin, Texas, October 17-20, 2007.

The Frontier is Here will explore the innovations and evolutions affecting the digital, media, and visual arts, including: education and training; youth media; copyright; virtual environments and the evolving interface; open source creation; using media and the visual arts to inspire activism; and, cutting-edge time-based art and independent film.

A 'low walls' phenomenon has clearly manifested in a younger generation of artists and activists, who are comfortable with the explosion of new tools and technologies, and who boldly move among practices and disciplines that often combine creative expression, social action consciousness, and an acute awareness of community networks. This year, we will continue this discussion while showcasing innovative models of community collaboration that personify the current evolution of these fields.

Austin's entire media arts community has joined forces with organizations from Houston and Dallas to plan this event, which is being spearheaded by the Austin School of Film. It was only three years ago that our organizations began formal communication with a bimonthly meeting of what we called the Austin Media Arts Council. Now we have attracted the national community to meet in our region for the first time in NAMAC's nearly 30-year history.

For more information on the conference, please visit the NAMAC website.

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Young Master Named 2007 Presidential Scholar in the Arts

Brittanie Brown just graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. Since the age of five, Brittanie has received formalized dance training in a variety of styles. Before being selected as a Young Master in 2006, Brittanie had already received a scholarship to attend the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater summer program in New York. She was also chosen by Debbie Allen to attend the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Program.

With the assistance of the Young Masters program during the summer of 2006, she attended the summer intensive at Alonzo King's LINES Ballet in San Francisco, CA.

"After attending the LINES Ballet Program, I now know what it means to be a true artist in dance. I realize that as an artistic dancer, you not only put your heart into your dancing in a performance, but in the classroom doing simple pliés at the barre as well. I have developed a new positive, energetic, open-mindedness about all dance and can truly say I have never learned so much as I did this past summer."

Brittanie will be attending Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson's Complexions Contemporary Ballet dance intensive this summer as part of the Young Masters program.

Brittanie recently received two amazing honors for all of her hard work. She was chosen as a 2007 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. These 20 students from all over the country have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community.

Even more impressive, she is 1 of 12 freshmen female dance majors accepted by Juilliard, the nation's arts conservatory in New York City. She starts classes, along with former Young Masters Jonathan Campbell (Juilliard Sophomore) and Christopher Vo (Juilliard Senior), in August 2007.

The application deadline for the next class of Young Masters is November 15, 2007. For more information, please visit www.arts.state.tx.us/ym.

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