TITLE: Congratulating the 2018 Texas State Artist honorees.

SUMMARY: Congratulating the 2018 Texas State Artist honorees.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the 2018 appointments for the positions of State Poet Laureate, State Musician, State Two-Dimensional Artist, and State Three-Dimensional Artist; and WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the arts, designation as a Texas State Artist is conferred on those individuals who represent the best of our rich and diverse artistic community and who inspire others through their unique creative expression; the nominations process for the awards is overseen by the TCA, and the final selections are made by a committee whose members are appointed by the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives; and WHEREAS, Carol Coffee Reposa has been named the 2018 State Poet Laureate; she is the author of four books of poetry, and her poems, reviews, and essays have appeared in such publications as the Atlanta Review,the Evansville Review,the Texas Observer,Southwestern American Literature,and the Valparaiso Poetry Review;repeatedly recognized for her work, she has been a finalist for the Malahat Review Long Poem Prize and a winner of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center poetry contest; she has also garnered an Arts and Letters Award from the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library, received several Pushcart Prize nominations, and been inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters; a professor emerita of English at San Antonio College, she serves today as poetry editor of Voices de la Luna;and WHEREAS, The 2018 State Musician is pianist, songwriter, and vocalist Marcia Ball, whose soulful ballads and rhythmic blues numbers, inspired by her upbringing in Texas and Louisiana, have earned her international acclaim; she is an inductee of the Museum of the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, as well as the recipient of 10 Blues Music Awards, 8 Living Blues Awards, and 5 Grammy Award nominations; over the years, she has traveled around the globe, performing for fans at countless festivals, concert halls, and clubs; and WHEREAS, Fort Worth native Sedrick Huckaby has been selected as the State Two-Dimensional Artist; an assistant professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he has taught since 2009, he holds a bachelor's degree from Boston University and a master's degree from Yale University; Mr. Huckaby draws his inspiration from African American domestic life, and his impressive works have been displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art; since embarking on his career in 1999, he has received many distinctions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Provincetown Fellowship, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant; among his most recent awards has been a 2016 prize in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, hosted by the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution; and WHEREAS, Named the 2018 State Three-Dimensional Artist, Beili Liu uses common materials and elements to create installations that explore complex cultural issues; her work has been exhibited throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States by such institutions as the National Museum for Women in the Arts, the Chinese Cultural Foundation, and the Norwegian National Art and Cultural Center; she has been honored with a 2016 Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant, a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artistic Innovation and Collaboration Grant, and a San Francisco Mayor's Award for her contributions to cultural exchange; a native of Jilin, China, she holds a master's degree from the University of Michigan and is currently a professor of art at The University of Texas at Austin; and WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to these prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant cultural life of the Lone Star State, and Texas is indeed fortunate to be home to these talented individuals; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate the 2018 Texas State Artist honorees and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued fulfillment in their creative endeavors. Frullo Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 2132 was adopted by the House on May 18, 2017, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House