Recognizing the 2026 Texas Commission on the Arts honorees.

89(R) SR 642 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 642

WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the

2026 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 the rich and diverse

artistic community in the Lone Star State and who inspire others

through their unique creative expression; and

WHEREAS, Kevin Prufer, the 2026 State Poet Laureate, is the

author of the poetry collection
How He Loved Them
, which received

the Julie Suk Award and was named to the long list for the 2019

Pulitzer Prize; his works have been included in year's best lists

by
The New York Times
,
Booklist
, and
Publishers Weekly
, and his

recent book,
The Fears
, was the winner of the 2024 Rilke Prize;

his many honors include multiple Pushcart Prizes, selections to

The Best American Poetry
series, numerous awards from the Poetry

Society of America, and fellowships from the National Endowment

for the Arts and the Lannan Foundation; he currently serves as a

professor in the creative writing programs at the University of

Houston and Lesley University; and

WHEREAS, The 2026 State Classical Musician is Ana María

Martínez of Houston; she is a Grammy Award-winning soprano and

is best known for her work on stage in
Rusalka
,
Carmen
,

Florencia en el Amazonas
,
La Bohème
,
Madama Butterfly
, and

Otello
; over the years, she has performed with the

Metropolitan Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, Opéra National

de Paris, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and the

Vienna State Opera, among other companies and venues; she is a

professor of voice at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice

University; and

WHEREAS, Norah Jones has been named the State

Nonclassical Musician for 2026; her debut record in 2002,
Come

Away with Me
, earned Ms. Jones five Grammy Awards, including

Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist; her

subsequent studio albums have all achieved platinum status,

and over the course of her career, she has sold more than 53

million records; raised in Grapevine, she is a graduate of the

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual

Arts in Dallas; and

WHEREAS, The work of Letitia Huckaby, the State

Two-Dimensional Artist, combines photographic prints and

fabrics to reexamine history and its contemporary connection

to the Black experience through portraiture; she has been

included in exhibitions at the Amon Carter Museum of American

Art in Fort Worth, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in

Arkansas, the Studio School of Harlem, and Texas Biennial in

Austin, and her pieces are included in the collections of the

Library of Congress and the Samella Lewis Contemporary Art

Collection at Scripps College; she is the cofounder of Kinfolk

House, a collaborative project space in Fort Worth, and in

2022, she was named the Texas Artist of the Year by Art League

Houston; and

WHEREAS, The 2026 State Three-Dimensional Artist, Linda

Ridgway, is based in Dallas and creates bronze wall reliefs that

convey both autobiographical and cultural imagery, with themes

that include femininity, tradition, and heritage; her work

juxtaposes the delicacy of the textures of lace and crochet work

with the monochromatic and industrial fortitude of metalwork;

she has participated in various solo and group exhibitions at the

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the

Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth; and

WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to hold these

prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant

cultural life of our 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 2026 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