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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the |
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2026 appointments for State Poet Laureate, State Classical |
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Musician, State Nonclassical Musician, State Two-Dimensional |
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Artist, and State Three-Dimensional Artist; and |
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WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the |
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arts, the Texas State Artist designation is conferred on |
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individuals who represent the best of the rich and diverse artistic |
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community in the Lone Star State and who inspire others through |
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their unique creative expression; and |
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WHEREAS, Kevin Prufer, the 2026 State Poet Laureate, is the |
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author of the poetry collection How He Loved Them, which received |
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the Julie Suk Award and was named to the long list for the 2019 |
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Pulitzer Prize; his works have been included in year's best lists by |
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The New York Times, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, and his recent |
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book, The Fears, was the winner of the 2024 Rilke Prize; his many |
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honors include multiple Pushcart Prizes, selections to The Best |
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American Poetry series, numerous awards from the Poetry Society of |
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America, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts |
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and the Lannan Foundation; he currently serves as a professor in the |
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creative writing programs at the University of Houston and Lesley |
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University; and |
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WHEREAS, The 2026 State Classical Musician is Ana María |
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Martínez of Houston; she is a Grammy Award-winning soprano and is |
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best known for her work on stage in Rusalka, Carmen, Florencia en el |
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Amazonas, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Otello; over the years, |
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she has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the Houston Grand |
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Opera, Opéra National de Paris, the Royal Opera House at Covent |
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Garden, and the Vienna State Opera, among other companies and |
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venues; she is a professor of voice at the Shepherd School of Music |
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at Rice University; and |
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WHEREAS, Norah Jones has been named the State Nonclassical |
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Musician for 2026; her debut record in 2002, Come Away with Me, |
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earned Ms. Jones five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, |
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Record of the Year, and Best New Artist; her subsequent studio |
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albums have all achieved platinum status, and over the course of her |
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career, she has sold more than 53 million records; raised in |
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Grapevine, she is a graduate of the Booker T. Washington High School |
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for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas; and |
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WHEREAS, The work of Letitia Huckaby, the State |
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Two-Dimensional Artist, combines photographic prints and fabrics |
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to reexamine history and its contemporary connection to the Black |
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experience through portraiture; she has been included in |
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exhibitions at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, |
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Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, the Studio |
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School of Harlem, and Texas Biennial in Austin, and her pieces are |
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included in the collections of the Library of Congress and the |
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Samella Lewis Contemporary Art Collection at Scripps College; she |
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is the cofounder of Kinfolk House, a collaborative project space in |
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Fort Worth, and in 2022, she was named the Texas Artist of the Year |
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by Art League Houston; and |
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WHEREAS, The 2026 State Three-Dimensional Artist, Linda |
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Ridgway, is based in Dallas and creates bronze wall reliefs that |
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convey both autobiographical and cultural imagery, with themes that |
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include femininity, tradition, and heritage; her work juxtaposes |
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the delicacy of the textures of lace and crochet work with the |
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monochromatic and industrial fortitude of metalwork; she has |
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participated in various solo and group exhibitions at the Museum of |
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Fine Arts Houston, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Amon Carter |
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Museum of American Art in Fort Worth; and |
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WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to hold these |
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prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant |
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cultural life of our state, and Texas is indeed fortunate to be home |
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to these talented individuals; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature |
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hereby congratulate the 2026 Texas Commission on the Arts honorees |
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and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued fulfillment in |
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their creative endeavors. |