Culture and the Arts

Texans are more than just cowboy boots and rodeos. Though we love those too!

  • Scotch-Irish Texans

    Some of the most famous Texans in history had Scotch-Irish heritage.
  • Polish Texans

    Poland immigrants have been a part of Texas since 1854.
  • Texas Medal of the Arts Awards

    Awards are given to artists in a wide variety of categories, including multimedia, music, visual arts, dance, literature, journalism, architecture, theater, and more.
  • State Musicians of Texas

    The Texas state musicians are selected for one-year appointments by the Texas Poet Laureate, State Musician and State Artist Committee.
  • State Artists of Texas

    The Texas state artists are selected for one-year appointments by the Texas Poet Laureate, State Musician and State Artist Committee.
  • State Poets Laureate

    Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 82, 43rd Legislature, Regular Session (1933) authorized appointment of a committee by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House to designate an outstanding and recognized poet, who is also a citizen of the state of Texas, as poet laureate.
  • Texas Wine Country: The Long and Winding Trail from Grape to Wine

  • Civic and Religious Holidays

    Civil and Religious Holidays have historically been observed and celebrated in Texas. In Texas, each state has its own jurisdiction over its holidays, which are usually designated by its legislature.
  • Sporting Licenses and Game Harvests

    Texas sells a variety of hunting and fishing licenses through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TWPD).
  • Fairs, Festivals, & Special Events

    Fairs, festivals, and other special events provide year-round recreation in Texas, but serve to support the economic growth and financial development of the state. Some of these celebrations are of national interest, while many attract visitors from across the state.
  • Many Cultures Converge to Creat One-of-a-Kind Lone Star Cuisine

    Texas' cuisine is influenced by the cultures of the six different flags that have flown over Texas. This has enabled a distinctive Texas cuisine; one that is rich in flavors ranging from Tex-Mex, barbecue, chicken fried steak, a veritable state stew, gumbo, or chili — take your pick — that reflects a land and its people.
  • Scandinavian Texans

    Scandinavian Texans have shaped Texas and its history. The latest U.S. census estimate putting their number at 155,949. Although many of the early Scandinavian immigrants came to Texas directly from Europe, this group, more than any other ethnic group, had successive waves in their historical emigration to Texas, either from other states in the union or directly from Europe.
  • Mexican Texans

    Mexican culture, heritage and contribution is a large part of what makes and has shaped Texas past, present and history. In 2010 over 31.6% of Texans identified as "Mexican, Mexican Am., or Chicano" and this demographic has significantly increased since.

  • Lebanese-Syrian Texans

    Lebanese and Syrian families began coming to Texas around 1880 from what were then Middle Eastern provinces within the Ottoman Turkish Empire. But the first Arabic-speaking individuals from that region already had arrived in Texas in 1856 as camel tenders.
  • Jewish Texans

    People of Jewish ancestry have been a part of Texas history since the first European explorers arrived in the 1500s. These first families were conversos, a Spanish term for Jews who converted to Christianity to avoid expulsion from Spain after the royal decree of 1492.
  • Japanese Texans

    The Japanese Texas heritage is part of Texas' incredibly rich and diverse past.
  • Italian Texans

    Italian heritage in Texas has deep roots dating to the 1700s when individual Italian merchants began to arrive. Among the early Italian arrivals in Texas was Vincente Micheli who settled in Nacogdoches from Brescia.

  • Czech Texans

    The Czech heritage in Texas has roots dating to the early 1850s when they first Czech citizen arrived to minister to German Protestants in Austin County.
  • French-Cajun Ancestry as Percent of Total Population

    Cajun heritage and identity has historic roots in Texas and has shaped the state for centuries.
  • Cajun Texans

    Cajun Texas are descendants of French colonists, and they first arrived in Texas in the spring of 1770. The group of 30 refugees, who were trying to get to Louisiana from Maryland, was on the schooner Britain, which was blown off course, missing the Mississippi River and ending up at Matagorda Bay. Imprisoned by the Spanish authorities as suspected smugglers, they had to do hard labor at Goliad but were released in October and made a trek across East Texas to Natchitoches, La., and then down to Opelousas.
  • Native Americans in Texas

    Native American Indian groups have shaped Texas throughout its history. Before 1900, historians have estimated, more than 50 Native American nations lived and thrived across Texas.
  • Asian Indians in Texas

    According to U.S. Census estimates, there were 385,000 Asian Indians living in Texas in 2017. The state's thriving job market, educational opportunity, and warm climate have made Texas the fourth-largest concentration of Asian Indians in the United States, behind California, New York, and New Jersey.
  • The Lone Star Cuisine

    Many Cultures Converge to Create One-of-a-Kind Lone Star Cuisine
  • Texas Makes Movies

    Texas has been calling itself the Third Coast of filmmaking–third after the West Coast and the East Coast–since about 1978.

It doesn't get any more Texan than this…

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