H.R. No. 709
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Rick Lowe of Houston has been named the 2015 Texas
Medal of Arts honoree for Visual Arts by the Texas Cultural Trust;
and
WHEREAS, The Texas Medal of Arts program pays tribute to
residents of the Lone Star State who have made significant
contributions to a variety of artistic disciplines in the state,
either through personal achievement or through generous support;
and
WHEREAS, A native of Alabama, Mr. Lowe attended Columbus
College in Georgia and subsequently studied visual arts at Texas
Southern University; in 1993, he cofounded the nonprofit Project
Row Houses, which brought together local artists and volunteers to
restore 22 dilapidated shotgun-style houses in Houston's historic
Third Ward and to transform that two-block site into an arts venue
and community support center; over the years, the scope of the
initiative has been dramatically expanded to provide youth arts
education programs, exhibition spaces and studio residences for
artists, housing for young mothers, and even an organic gardening
program; and
WHEREAS, In addition to his achievements in his own
community, Mr. Lowe has helped establish arts-driven redevelopment
efforts in a number of other cities, including the Watts House
Project in Los Angeles, the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding
project Transforma in New Orleans, and a community market in
Dallas; he has also assisted with such community building efforts
as the Arts Plan for the Seattle Public Library, the Borough Project
for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and the
Delray Beach Cultural Loop in Florida; and
WHEREAS, The work of this world-renowned artist has been
exhibited in the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Museum of Fine
Arts in Houston, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the
Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, and the Venice Architecture
Biennale; appointed to the National Council on the Arts by
President Barack Obama in 2013, he also serves today as
artist-in-residence at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and as
a Mel King Community Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; in recognition of his visionary efforts, he was
selected as a 2014 MacArthur Fellow; and
WHEREAS, Rick Lowe has touched countless individuals through
his art and has used his extraordinary gifts to enhance the quality
of life in his community and in cities across the nation, and he is
most deserving of this prestigious accolade; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Rick Lowe on his selection as the
2015 Texas Medal of Arts honoree for Visual Arts by the Texas
Cultural Trust and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued
success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Lowe as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Coleman
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 709 was adopted by the House on March
12, 2015, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House