Home Care In Art, TX

Jonah Dillon rolls over a canvas with his paint-covered wheelchair tires in a video projected during a celebration Sunday at the Rollins Studio Theatre inside the Long Center for Performing Arts.

The Austin-based visual artist was one of six artists honored at Art Spark Texas' 2026 Artists of the Year Award Celebration. Dillon, who has muscular dystrophy, said the award proves to him that people respect his message with his artwork.

"I hope to show people that no matter what, if you want to do something, you can find a way to do it," said Dillon, who received the Director’s Commendation Award for his inventive work and adaptability.

The free public celebration, now in its ninth year, recognizes artists whose work reflects creativity, leadership and making the arts more inclusive.

“A lot of what we're trying to do is raise up and celebrate the artists,” Art Spark Executive Director Celia Hughes said. “But we're also tying it back to their commitment and what these people are doing in the community to increase awareness and hopefully make some positive societal change.”

This year’s honorees received awards recognizing their work across a range of artistic disciplines. Filmmaker Penny LeLeux received the Lynn Marie Johnson Media Arts Award for her Barefoot on the Bayou Group, which focuses on making films along Texas' Interstate 10 corridor. Austin painter and recent UT Austin graduate Rachel Salcido received the SPARK Award honoring emerging artists.

Wimberley artist Pebbles Wadsworth received the Gloria Bond Creative Aging Award, and Glenn Towery — a Waco-based Vietnam veteran, screenwriter and filmmaker — got the Creative Veteran Service Award.

San Antonio actress and director Donna Provencher received the Haven Street-Allen Artist of the Year Award for her work directing a sensory-friendly performance of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, allowing audience members to move freely throughout the show. As an individual diagnosed with autism and ADHD, she said she wanted to create a show that she could’ve participated in as a child and that her kids can be a part of now.

“Too often we're trying to retroactively take environments that aren't designed for disabled people and sort of retrofit features onto them to make them work, as opposed to just designing an environment that would work for everybody regardless,” she said. “If you build in the inclusive practices from the jump, it makes a really big difference."

The afternoon brought together artists, families, supporters and community members for presentations and performances. The event also marked Art Spark Texas’ 30th anniversary, celebrating three decades of creating opportunities for artists with disabilities and veterans.

“This is really about getting people to come together, to create friendships and being included in the community through arts-based activities,” Hughes said.

James Surls, "From the Old Growth," 2022, at Passage Arts, is both the exhibition title and the artwork title for a 16,000 redwood burl sculpture featured in the new nonprofit's grand debut. (Photo by Kirk Hopper)

Dallas’ Kirk Hopper Fine Art is shuttering to make way for the gallerist’s bold and ambitious new nonprofit, Passage Arts, in a 7,500-square-foot space bordering Fair Park and downtown at 845 S. Trunk Avenue, near the intersection of I-30 and 1-45.

The hundred-year-old warehouse will be reborn this September when Passage Arts launches with an exhibition that underscores Hopper’s decades-long commitment to Texas art and artists.

Don’t expect understated conceptual art here, but the massive sculpture of Texas titan James Surls, whose roots go deep in both Dallas and Houston — from teaching at SMU (1970-1975), to birthing the contemporary art scene as we know it by forming iconic Lawndale Art Center, established 1979 as an off-campus studio space for University of Houston art students after the UH Department of Art building burned down.

Independent curator, art historian, and author Susie Kalil co-curates the inaugural exhibition alongside the 83-year-old Surls. From the Old Growth presents 18 drawings and 25 sculptures across a half-century of Surls’ vast oeuvre, bringing forth a show that reminds the viewer of the primacy of art spun around nature, which is both Surls’ calling card and his legacy.

The exhibition’s namesake 16,000-pound redwood burl sculpture will halt you in your tracks. At Passage Arts, Surls’ primal practice — wood honed by ax and chainsaw — has the space it demands to be properly experienced.

“Passage Arts is getting back to origin stories the way artists created and wanted their art to be seen and experienced,” Kalil tells PaperCity. “Surls’ vision is of another world — a metaphysical quest of the mysteries and terrors of nature, as well as the fragility and absurdity of human life.”

SHOP

We caught up with the three key players who will make Passage Arts’ arrival on the North Texas scene this September a heroic statement, to delve into how it all came about.

Gallerist Turned Nonprofit Founder

Kirk Hopper tells us, “It started years ago when I first saw the building. Last year, I made an offer and put the loan together. We’ve been in the mix renovating this year.”

On the why, Hopper shares, “I love old buildings and renovating them. I completed one in Marfa’s historic district several years ago. The Trunk Street building is over 100 years old and a perfect place to showcase Surls’ work.”

The independent-minded Hopper — who’s always enjoyed a reputation as an iconoclast in the Texas art world, coming into art dealing from the collector side — owned and directed his eponymous gallery for 18 years, first in Deep Ellum, then the Design District. His program embraced talents ranging from Bert Long Jr. to Forrest Bess. Texas Artist of the Year and Rome Prize recipient Long once shared with this writer that Hopper was his favorite among all his dealers across a notable half-century career.

On his new chapter, Hopper says, “I got bored with the gallery on Riverfront. With Passage Arts, I can do other art events, music, dance, whatever. Take my time, not have a gallery schedule.”

The Iconic Curator Weighs In

Central to achieving Hopper’s grand vision for Passage Arts will be its curator, Susie Kalil, undoubtedly the most dedicated art historian in our state committed to documenting Texas artists. From co-curating the MFAH’s 1985-1986 touring exhibition Fresh Paint: The Houston School to writing important books on artists Alexandre Hogue, Dorothy Hood, Roger Winter, and, out this fall, Kermit Oliver, Kalil is a true believer and truly in a field of her own.

On how the Surls exhibition for Passage Arts came about, Kalil tells us details of the timeline, which all came together, unbelievably, within less than nine months:

“Kirk bought the warehouse in January 2026,” she says. “We didn’t waste any time! The exhibition was my idea. Kirk took me over to the warehouse just days after the paperwork was finalized — the enormous, 100-year-old warehouse, the 28-foot ceiling height, the original clerestory windows.

“Instinctively, I knew in my bones that a James Surls sculpture exhibition had to open this significant endeavor to a larger public. But I also knew that it couldn’t be like any previous Surls sculpture show, gallery or museum.“I wanted the raw, fierce work that would convey a new narrative, impacting a long-time audience already familiar with this iconic artist, while also attracting a new generation hungering for authentic, physical experience.”

On her history with the artist, the curator says, “James and I have worked together on exhibitions, catalog essays, magazine interviews, and more for several decades. I knew he had produced important large-scale works during the past few years that would not likely be exhibited in mainstream museums but would also catch your breath if shown in a renegade context.”

Hopper was all in. Kalil says, “Kirk immediately understood and embraced the concept, boldly and without hesitation, even as it would require complex logistics — cranes and Penske trucks — to ship and install a 16,000-pound redwood burl sculpture.”

The curatorial process was built upon trust and the curator and artist’s long-standing history of collaboration. Kalil recalls, “James and I spent several weeks putting together a checklist, narrowing to 25 sculptures and 18 drawings, from the late 1970s to present, that will push viewers out of their comfort zones.”

Kail alerts us that Surls will also be stepping out of his comfort zone too. “For the first time ever,” she says, “James will be producing a sound/audio component that will add another spatial dimension as viewers journey through the cavernous space — music, the howls of a wolf, hoots from an owl, harkening to a time when artists were more like priests or shamans, throwing voices and echoes to the wind.”

Kalil also has a long history as Hopper’s main curator for special exhibitions. They have become a dream team, stepping out of the proscribed world of art commerce to something more intrinsic and elemental. Kalil says, “You know Kirk — very quiet, doesn’t network or follow the art crowd, but he is a visionary and will always honor the artist and the art with integrity and genuine commitment. Passage Arts will be seismic, a hotbed of creative ferment in uncertain times.”

The OG of the Texas Scene

On his role as Passage Arts grand opener, James Surls tells us, “For a good number of years, I have been breathing life into large-scale sculptures that do not fit the norm of the day.

“Then comes an opportunity, a possibility that only comes through the mind’s eye of imaginative dreamers and risk takers, those who have spent years looking and listening to the sights and sounds of their times. From those who can see and hear the distant voices asking me if I am ready. My answer was as clear as the call itself. I said yes to Passage Arts.”

“I am deep-seated in the trajectory of From the Old Growth in and through my lifetime. Passage Arts has opened the door. Now is the right time and place for me to say thank you to the ones who give me safe passage.”

“James Surls: From the Old Growth,” September 19, 2026 – April 17, 2027, at Passage Arts, 845 S. Trunk Ave., Dallas. Find more details here.

The Texas Longhorns faced an interesting decision following the departure of Mack Brown.

The Texas Longhorns had a deal in place to make Art Briles the head coach following the departure of Mack Brown after the 2013 season.

Fortunately for Texas, things fell through with the former Baylor Bears head coach, and the Longhorns would end up hiring Charlie Strong.

Briles told On3's Brett McMurphy that he had agreed to a six-year deal to become the next head coach at Texas in 2014 prior to Baylor's appearance in the Fiesta Bowl that winter. But after the Bears lost 52-42 to UCF to end the season, Briles changed his mind, a decision that completely altered the trajectory of both Texas and Baylor.

Art Briles: "It Made Sense" to Join Texas

"I mean I was there," Briles told On3. "If we’d won our bowl game, I would have left Baylor 100%. It was done for me because I’m a Texas guy and (my son) Kendal played there. So it made sense."

Briles remained at Baylor after what marked one of the best seasons in program history. But a little over two years later after his decision to turn down the Texas job, Briles was fired by Baylor University.

A massive sexual assault scandal revealed that Briles knew about sexual misconduct and rape allegations against multiple players dating back to 2012. Briles swept these allegations under the rug and didn't report them to the university, allowing the perpetrators to continue going unpunished while the victims were left seeking justice.

Texas Dodged a Massive Bullet

Had Briles accepted the Texas job, it would have only been a matter of time until the legal findings of sexual assaul scandal came to light. It's a shame that the people of Baylor University

The horrific controversy that tarnished Briles' legacy at Baylor would have suddenly involved Texas to a smaller degree.

If Briles had become head coach at Texas, the legal findings would have eventually surfaced and the Longhorns would have fired him after two years on the job and would have to find another head coach while simultaneously dealing with the negative spotlight around Briles.

Though Charlie Strong never had a winning season in his three years at Texas, he represented the university the right way as a kind man with an infectious smile.

Not among of wins or national titles would have been worth it for Texas to have Briles wearing the burnt orange instead.

Sign up to and follow us on, and for the latest news.

Published Aug 19, 2026

Disgraced former Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles landed his first head coaching job in college football since 2016 with the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, a DII mired in a long losing stretch.

Fired from Baylor in 2016 after a major sexual assault scandal, Briles has spent two stints coaching football in Italy, along with a two-year stretch in the high school ranks at Mount Pleasant, before he was hired to coach in Portales.

In an interview with On3’s Brett McMurphy, Briles revealed what a report from the Austin American-Statesman had hinted at when Texas was looking for a replacement for Mack Brown at the end of the 2013 season — the then-Bears head coach had accepted a deal to coach the Longhorns before deciding to stay in Waco after Baylor lost its first-ever BCS appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, a 52-40 defeat by UCF.

”I mean, I was there,” Briles told McMurphy. “If we’d won our bowl game, I would have left Baylor 100 percent. It was done for me because I’m a (state of) Texas guy and (my son) Kendal played there. So it made sense.”

Two days after the Fiesta Bowl, Briles tweeted, “Contrary to reports and rumors I am a Baylor Bear - 2013 Big 12 Champs,” and the school later released a statement confirming his return.

At the time, the long-dormant Baylor program was on the rise under Briles, winning 10 games in 2011 for only the second time in its history thanks to upsets of Oklahoma and Texas that earned Robert Griffin III the Heisman Trophy. Two years later, the Bears beat the Longhorns again on the way to a program-record 11 wins, and Briles was one of the hottest coaches in the country.

Texas ultimately settled on Louisville head coach Charlie Strong, who probably wasn’t even the second or third option for then-athletics director Steve Patterson, the replacement for the legendary DeLoss Dodds. Strong flamed out in three years with a 16-21 record, and Briles was also out at Baylor in 2016 after the release of the Pepper Hamilton report revealed the extent of the athlete misconduct scandal in Waco.

Now the nearly-completed deal with Briles by the Longhorns serves as a major footnote in one of the most disastrous coaching searches in Texas history conducted by one of its most incompetent athletic directors.