Award season may have come to Hollywood, but in Texas the artist stars will shine just as bright in February as the biennial Texas Medal of Arts Awards honor the artistic achievements of a stellar lineup of Texans, including Academy Awarding winning best actor Matthew McConaughey, iconic photographer Mark Seliger, and Grammy-winning, legendary singer-songwriter Boz Scaggs.
While some of the honorees were revealed back in November, at a recent event at the Houston Ballet, Heidi Marquez Smith, executive director, Texas Cultural Trust, which runs the TMAA, announced the complete list of Medal recipients. Houstonians and 2017 recipients Lynn Wyatt (honoree for individual arts patron) and the Houston Ballet’s Lauren Anderson (honoree for dance) took the stage to help present the full roster of Texas artists.
“We are proud to present the Texas Medal of Arts Award to these incredibly talented and esteemed honorees. Each of these artists have inspired and captivated their communities, our state, and beyond -- contributing to the cultural fabric of our world,” said Heidi Marquez Smith, Texas Cultural Trust executive director in a statement given with the announcement.
Here are the 2019 Texas Medal of Arts Awards Honorees:
Film: Matthew McConaughey, Austin
Music: Boz Scaggs, Plano
Design: Brandon Maxwell, Longview
Literary Arts: Stephen Harrigan, Austin
Architecture: Elaine Molinar, El Paso, and Craig Dykers, San Antonio
Arts Education: Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts, Laredo
Multimedia: Mark Seliger, Houston
Visual Arts: Trenton Doyle Hancock, Houston
Music Ensemble: Conspirare, Austin
Theatre: Jennifer Holliday, Houston
While McConaughey certainly headlines this group of acclaimed Texas artists, having conquered the film world with an easy “Alright, alright, alright,” the other honorees have also represented Texas artistic achievement in a multitude of fields.
Elaine Molinar and Craig Dykers established the international architecture, landscape and design studio Snøhetta, and have received numerous international architectural awards. Best selling novelist, journalist and screenwriter Stephen Harrigan, has written for Texas Monthly since the magazine’s founding and is a founding member of the Texas Book Festival. Tony and Grammy Award-winning Jennifer Holliday has been a Broadway star since originating the role of Effie in Dreamgirls. The drawings and paintings of renowned visual artist, Trenton Doyle Hancock, can be found in the permanent collections of the Menil, MFAH, Museum of Modern Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The 10th biennial Texas Medal of Arts Awards takes place over two days — February 26-27 — in Austin, culminating with a red carpet reception, gala dinner, and awards show with expected performance from Holliday, Boz Scaggs, and the fellow Grammy Award-winners, Conspirare.
Besides a celebration of Texas artists, the TMAA is the signature fundraising event of the Texas Cultural Trust, and spotlights “the power of the arts to improve children’s education, preserve the unique and proud culture of Texas, and stimulate the state’s economy.”
Theatre: Jennifer Holliday, Houston
