The first honoree list in 2001 included the incomparable Willie Nelson, folk music superstars Flaco and Santiago Jiminez, actor Tommy Lee Jones, restoration architect Wayne Bell, and the man who wrote the screenplay for To Kill A Mockingbird, Horton Foote, amongst a host of other Texas legends.
In the years since, the Texas Cultural Trust, with its mission to “inspire, integrate and illuminate the arts in Texas,” has made the Texas Medal Of Arts Awards a biennial celebration of the creativity that is Texas and the Texan greats that have shown a spotlight on that creativity and been ambassadors for the state by doing so.
Thus far, 83 Texans in various creative fields and those that have encouraged them have been recognized and honored both for their talent and generosity to artistic endeavors. This year’s event will be held over Feb. 24 and 25 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin.
On Wednesday, the Texas Cultural Trust announced the 2015 honorees, and they are:
- T. Bone Burnett, Fort Worth (Music)
- Robert Schenkkan, Austin (Theatre)
- Rick Lowe, Houston (Visual Arts)
- Lawrence Wright, Austin (Literary Arts)
- Kilgore Rangerettes, Kilgore (Dance)
- Dan Rather, Wharton (Television)
- Charles Renfro, Houston (Architecture)
- Chandra Wilson, Houston (Television)
- Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Dallas (Arts Education)
- Jamie Foxx, Terrell (Film)
- The Gatlin Brothers, Seminole (Lifetime Achievement)
- Ruth Altshuler, Dallas (Standing Ovation Award)
- Emilio Nicolas, San Antonio (Multimedia)
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Plano (Corporate Arts Patron)