SR643 - Recognizing the 2025 Texas Commission on the Arts honorees.

          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 643          WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the   2025 appointments for State Poet Laureate, State Classical   Musician, State Nonclassical Musician, State Two-Dimensional   Artist, and State Three-Dimensional Artist; and          WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the   arts, the Texas State Artist designation is conferred on   individuals who represent the best of our rich and diverse   artistic community and who inspire others through their unique   creative expression; and          WHEREAS, Octavio Quintanilla, the 2025 State Poet   Laureate, has authored three poetry collections, including The   Book of Wounded Sparrows , which was on the longlist for the   National Book Award, and Las Horas Imposibles / The Impossible   Hours , the winner of the 2024 Ambroggio Prize of the Academy of   American Poets; he is also known for his Frontextos visual poem   series; a former poet laureate of San Antonio, he is the founder   and director of the VersoFrontera Literature and Arts Festival   and publisher of Alabrava Press; he serves as a professor at Our   Lady of the Lake University and was recently inducted into the   Texas Institute of Letters; and          WHEREAS, The 2025 State Classical Musician is Alecia   Lawyer, the founder, artistic director, and principal oboist of   ROCO, the trailblazing music ensemble in Houston; named by   Musical America Worldwide as one of classical music's top 30   influencers for 2015, she has recorded for John Cage, soloed with   Mstislav Rostropovich, given a recital at Carnegie Hall,   recorded with the Sorbonne Orchestra, and performed with various   orchestras and chamber groups in France and Germany; over the   years, she has also been recognized as the Outstanding Chamber   Orchestra Founder by the Houston Chronicle and as the Sigma Alpha   Iota Musician of the Year; and          WHEREAS, Texas native Miranda Lambert was named the State   Nonclassical Musician for 2025; this acclaimed artist received   Grammy Awards for Best Country Album for her releases Platinum   and Wildcard , and she has earned numerous honors from the Academy   of Country Music and the Country Music Association; she was   listed as one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine   in 2022, and in 2024, she received the Country Icon Award at the   People's Choice Country Awards; and          WHEREAS, Angelbert Metoyer, the State Two-Dimensional   Artist, explores memory and social history through the lenses of   science, philosophy, and religion, incorporating nontraditional   materials that include coal, glass, debris, oil, tar, mirrors,   and gold dust; since 1994, he has exhibited his art at the Venice   Biennale and Art Basel in Miami Beach and in many solo   exhibitions and group shows; in addition, he has works in the   permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as   well as the U.S. Department of State, Charles H. Wright Museum of   African American History, and Museum of Fine Arts in Leipzig,   Germany; and          WHEREAS, The 2025 State Three-Dimensional Artist, Steve   Parker, is an Austin-based artist and musician who creates   sculptural ecosystems that transform spaces into large-scale   collaborative performances; he is the recipient of a Creative   Capital Award and Rome Prize, as well as grants from the   Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Fulbright Scholar Program, and   National Endowment for the Arts; an associate professor at   The University of Texas at San Antonio, he is the artistic   director of Collide Arts and has showcased his work at the   American Academy in Rome, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,   the Fusebox Festival, the Lincoln Center Festival, and South by   Southwest; and          WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to hold 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 Senate of the State of Texas, 89th   Legislature, hereby congratulate the 2025 Texas Commission on   the Arts honorees and extend to them sincere best wishes for   continued fulfillment in their creative endeavors.     Menéndez                 ________________________________          President of the Senate               I hereby certify that the     above Resolution was adopted by     the Senate on May 31, 2025.                 ________________________________          Secretary of the Senate                 ________________________________           Member, Texas Senate