The Long Center’s Rollins Theatre hosted a free afternoon of art in Austin on Sunday, Sept. 27, as Art Spark Texas presented its ninth Artist of the Year Awards. Six Texans were recognized for work across several creative disciplines. Art Spark’s event listing said the 1-to-4 p.m. program honored artists with disabilities, senior artists and veterans, and was open to the public. The listing also described live music and catering. KUT reported that artists, relatives, supporters and other community members attended.
One of the artists, Austin visual artist Jonah Dillon, appeared in a video shown during the ceremony. KUT reported that the footage showed him rolling over a canvas with paint-covered wheelchair tires. Dillon received the Director’s Commendation for his inventive work and adaptability. He told the station that the award mattered because people respected the message in his artwork. The recognition placed his individual work within an event honoring artists across Texas.
Creative choices shape the room
San Antonio actress and director Donna Provencher received the Haven Street-Allen Artist of the Year Award for directing a sensory-friendly production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. KUT reported that audience members could move freely throughout the show. Provencher told the station she wanted to make a production she could have participated in as a child and that her children could be part of now. She also described the value of building inclusive practices into an environment from the start, rather than trying to retrofit it later. In this case, the award recognized a theater production and the choices that shaped the audience experience.
Filmmaker Penny LeLeux received the Lynn Marie Johnson Media Arts Award for the Barefoot on the Bayou Group, which makes films along Texas’ Interstate 10 corridor. Austin painter Rachel Salcido, a recent University of Texas at Austin graduate, received the SPARK Award, which recognizes emerging artists. KUT named both among the six honorees in its account of the ceremony. The two awards point to different kinds of work: a film group’s ongoing projects and an emerging painter’s practice.
Wimberley artist Pebbles Wadsworth received the Gloria Bond Creative Aging Award. Glenn Towery, a Waco-based Vietnam veteran, screenwriter and filmmaker, received the Creative Veteran Service Award. Together with Dillon and Provencher, they completed the group of six artists honored in 2026. The roster spans media arts, theater, painting and filmmaking, while also including awards tied to creative aging and veteran service.
An annual celebration with a wider purpose
KUT reported that the ceremony combined an awards program with presentations and performances. Art Spark’s event listing said the program included live music and catering and was free and open to the public. The gathering was held at Rollins Theatre inside the Long Center.
The ceremony’s format paired an awards program with presentations and performances, according to KUT. That meant the event was not only a list of award recipients: attendees also encountered artists’ work and heard about the thinking behind it. Dillon’s process was shared through footage, while Provencher’s sensory-friendly production offered an example from theater. Art Spark’s listing adds the practical details for the afternoon: a public event at a central Austin venue, with live music and catering.
The honorees’ fields and the award titles keep the story grounded in specific work. LeLeux’s group makes films along a Texas highway; Salcido was recognized as an emerging painter; Provencher directed a production with room for audience movement; and Towery’s award recognized veteran service alongside his work as a screenwriter and filmmaker. Wadsworth’s recognition centered creative aging, and Dillon’s commendation acknowledged his work and adaptability. Each award connected the ceremony to a different artistic practice or contribution.
For families and other audience members, a public arts gathering can offer a chance to encounter work they might not otherwise come across, from film and theater to painting. KUT reported that the Sept. 27 event brought artists and community members together for performances and presentations. Art Spark’s ninth awards ceremony recognized six Texans and marked three decades of the organization’s work, giving the afternoon both a local focus and a milestone for the group behind it.
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