And the Winners Are

5 famous Houstonians honored for their contributions to the arts in Texas and around the world

The 2017 honorees for the biennial Texas Medal of Arts Awards have been announced, and it's a pretty starry list. Recognizing "amazing Texans who have made powerful contributions to the arts here at home and around the world," the awards are given by the Texas Cultural Trust and will be held in Austin February 21-22.

This year's winners are a diverse bunch of actors, musicians, dancers, artists, writers, architects, reporters, and philanthropists. They will all be celebrated at the state's most prestigious arts gala, held for the first time at Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. The slated events include a Stars of Texas brunch at the governor’s mansion, an awards show with special musical performances, and a gala dinner.

Notable Houston winners include philanthropist Lynn Wyatt, gospel singer Yolanda Adams, ballerina Lauren Anderson, and musical theater actress René Elise Goldsberry,who recently won a Tony Award for her role in the smash hit Hamilton. Perhaps the most famous of the Houston-area honorees is music legend Kenny Rogers, who's receiving the lifetime achievement award.

Other recognizable names include musician Kris Kristofferson, Rhodes Scholar writer John Phillip Santos, and artist Leo Villareal.

"People from all over Texas and from all artistic disciplines are honored and celebrated as we raise awareness about how vital the arts are to our state’s economy and our children’s education," says Texas Cultural Trust executive director Jennifer Ransom Rice in a release. "We hope for continuing and expanding support for the arts for future generations to appreciate, embrace, and enjoy."

The complete list is as follows:

Corporate Patron: John Paul & Eloise DeJoria, Paul Mitchell/Patrón Tequila, Austin
Multimedia: Kris Kristofferson, Brownsville
Individual Arts Patron: Lynn Wyatt, Houston
Dance: Lauren Anderson, Houston
Music: Yolanda Adams, Houston
Arts Education: Dallas Black Dance Theatre,Dalla
Theater: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Houston
Foundation Patron: The Tobin Endowment, San Antonio
Visual Art: Leo Villareal, El Paso
Architecture: Frank Welch, Dallas
Literary: John Phillip Santos, San Antonio
Journalism: Scott Pelley, San Antonio
Lifetime Achievement: Kenny Rogers, Houston

To date, the Texas Medal of Arts Awards has presented 99 medals to 105 Texas legends and luminaries who have achieved greatness through their creative talents, as well as those whose generosity has opened doors to artistic opportunity for Texans of all ages. Past honorees have included Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, ZZ Top, Willie Nelson, Dan Rather, Neiman Marcus, Margaret McDermott, Tommy Lee Jones, Debbie Allen, Walter Cronkite, Lake Flato Architects, the Nasher Foundation, Sandra Cisneros, Clint Black, and Lyle Lovett, among others.

Lynn Wyatt is receiving the individual arts patron award.

Lynn Wyatt is receiving the individual arts patron award.

awards celebrities

a 14 minute tour

Museum of Fine Arts takes Houston to Paris cathedral with new virtual tour

Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.

Museum of Fine Arts courtesy image.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.” (Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.)

Lovers of art and architecture around the world mourned when a 2019 fire destroyed significant portions of the exterior and interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral, one of the most beloved landmarks in all of France. After five years of intense rebuilding and repair, Notre-Dame is set to open again this December. For those who can’t make it to the reopening, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a very special virtual trip planned this holiday season with their just announced monumental installation, the “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

Set within the MFAH’s vast Cullinan Hall, this animated, 14-minute, immersive presentation will surround visitors with images of Notre-Dame, simulating the experience of walking through the medieval cathedral. Viewers will go on a virtual journey from the outside of Notre-Dame as day turns to dusk, then move into the candle-lite interiors and stained-glass windows. The immersive video will also replicate the fire and its aftermath before revealing the cathedral’s newly reconstructed spire, topped with a cross and a golden rooster, a national emblem of France and a symbol of Christianity.

“It is difficult to exaggerate the role Notre-Dame plays in the public imagination, from its iconic architecture, emblematic of the Northern Gothic style, to its magnificent stained-glass rose windows,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow said in a statement. “When fire erupted five years ago, millions of people around the world grieved the loss of a monument that had personal significance to each of them. Happily, the cathedral has been restored, and now Houstonians will be among the first to experience the reconstructed building that rose from the ashes.”

“Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” was created by Ars Electronica Futurelab, in partnership with French start-ups Iconem and Histovery. To create a virtual 3D model of Notre-Dame, the installation uses point cloud data compiled by the late Belgian art historian and Vassar College professor Andrew Tallon, who created 3D laser scans of the cathedral in 2010 that proved instrumental in guiding the reconstruction of the cathedral as well as additional scans and 3D material by Histovery.

Over the years, we’ve come to expect perception-defying immersive artworks from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston every summer, but this “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” November surprise looks to be a perfect place to take any visiting art, history, or Francophile friends and family for the holidays.

The "Notre-Dame Immersive Experience" will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from November 23, 2024, through January 5, 2025.

Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

museum of fine arts houston museums notredame cathedral