Gary Clark Jr., Richard Linklater, Dennis Quaid among Texas Medal of Arts Awards honorees

The Texas Medal of Arts Awards, the Lone Star State version of the national Kennedy Center Honors, will lionize musician Gary Clark Jr., actor Dennis Quaid, movie director Richard Linklater and author Elizabeth Crook, among others, on Feb. 25 and 26.

Presented by the Texas Cultural Trust, an advocacy group, the biennial awards have been saluting Texas artists, authors, teachers, philanthropists and journalists since 2001, when Debbie Allen, Lyle Lovett and Tommy Lee Jones were among the honored.

Who are the 2025 Texas Medal of Arts Awards honorees?

• Terry Allen: Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1943, this songwriter and visual artist is particularly adept at multimedia projects. Allen has made Lubbock his home for much of his critically acclaimed career.
• Mercedes Bass: Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1944, Bass, based partly in Fort Worth, is an arts patron on a regional, national and international level. From 1988 to 2011, she was married to Sid Richardson Bass of the Bass oil-fortune family.
• Gary Clark Jr.: Born in Austin in 1984, Clark has had an extraordinary career as a songwriter and musician. At age 40, he is the youngest of the 2025 honorees.
• Elizabeth Crook: Born in Houston in 1959, Austin-based historical novelist Crook received the Texas Writer Award from the Texas Book Festival in 2023. A film adaptation of her excellent "The Which Way Tree" is in the works.

• Sandy Duncan: Born in Henderson in 1946, this ebullient East Texan took Broadway by storm in dozens of hits, including "Peter Pan," "My One and Only" and "Chicago."
• Richard Linklater: Born in Houston in 1960, Austin-based moviemaker Linklater helped define the Texas film scene through "Slacker," "Dazed and Confused," "Bernie," "Boyhood," and the "Before" series, among others.
• Donald Moffett: Born in San Antonio in 1955, Moffett, who now lives and works in New York City, combines painting and sculpture with other forms in his widely exhibited visual art.
• Moody Foundation: Based in Galveston, this family foundation has blessed the state with numberless gifts. In Austin alone, the Moody name is attached to at least a half dozen major projects that support nature and the arts.
• Texas Music Educators Association: The Texas Medal of Arts Awards usually honor an outstanding teacher or school. This year, the education award goes to a teachers' group.
• Dennis Quaid: Born in Houston in 1954, Quaid has been a star of stage and screen for at least 50 years. Although he briefly relocated to Austin, Hollywood remains his career base.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Which Texans have been honored before?

Previous honorees include Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Holliday, Miranda Lambert, Eva Longoria, ZZ Top, Willie Nelson, Boz Scaggs, Dan Rather, Neiman Marcus, Stephen Harrigan, H-E-B, Margaret McDermott, Bob Schieffer, Robert Rodriguez, Walter Cronkite, Lawrence Wright, Sandra Cisneros and Horton Foote.

Proceeds from the classy awards ceremony and dinner, which will be held at the Long Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 26, will support the trust's full-time work around the state, especially in arts education, a field often neglected by Texas schools. For tickets to events, go to txculturaltrust.org.

"Texans have left an indelible mark on the arts and culture landscape, creating a legacy that inspires future generations," said Texas Cultural Trust CEO Heidi Marquez Smith in a statement. “We are thrilled to celebrate these outstanding creative leaders at the 12th biennial Texas Medal of Arts Awards, reinforcing the importance of supporting the arts and creative sectors.”