TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS FACES CHALLENGE: During his State of the State address on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry called for the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Historical Commission to be defunded. Perry said that the two organizations do not provide “mission-critical” services. As you can imagine, that has leaders of those organizations saying, “What the what?!?” And they were plenty happy to tell the Texas Tribune all about why they are so very important. Meanwhile, dallasnews.com reached out to some local arts groups for their reactions.

PARIS WITH JEAN PAUL: Being a curator at a major museum isn’t without its perks. Take, for instance, Kevin Tucker, the Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art. To prepare for the museum’s staging of “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” in November, Tucker visited the City of Lights recently to take in a runway show of the designer’s new collections.  He writes about the experience on the DMA’s Uncrated blog.

THINK AUDIO: Did you catch Krys Boyd’s interview with mezzo-soprano and recent Texas Medal of the Arts winner Barbara Smith Conrad on Tuesday’s episode of Think? Fort Worth Opera General Director Darren Woods says he shed a tear listening to it. What made the interview so emotional? Listen to it/download it here.