France Honors Michel E. Henry
On December 12, 2019, Alexis Andres, Consul General of France in Houston, awarded Michael E. Henry the insignia of Chevalier of Arts and Letters in a ceremony held at the French Residence in Houston, TX. Among the many friends and family members attending the event were Fielding and Meredith Cocke, Richard and Martha Finger, Kevin and Karen Henry, Randy and Janice Henry, Bill and Noelle Flores, and Aymeric and Katia Martinoia.
For more than 20 years and through his leadership positions, Michael E. Henry’s commitment in nonprofit organizations has been remarkable, contributing hundreds of hours of charity time and helping raise millions of dollars to support the promotion of French art, culture and education, both in Texas and in France.
In 1988, Michael E. Henry raised $10,000 for Awty International School, following which he was invited to join the school board. As the Awty’s annual Gala Master of Ceremonies and live auction auctioneer, he helped raise thousands of dollars through the sale of art to help support the extra needs and special programs for the school.
He joined the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts in 2007. Under his leadership and through his fundraising efforts, the foundation has been carrying out close to 200 projects. Some notable ones are the Bernar Venet Public Art Exhibition (2010) held at Hermann Park Houston and viewed by over 2 million visitors; the Art Recognition Award and Auction (2011), an art auction including artists from France and Texas; or Notre Soleil, a program and installation of a public art sculpture in front of the Institut d’Hématologie et d’Oncologie Pédiatrique de Lyon. Young Lyon French cancer patients helped create the art work, along with Texas and French artists, and were involved in exchanges with Houston’s Texas Children’s Hospital young cancer patients as well.
More recently in 2018, he helped secure a private donor to entirely fund the Texas Children’s mural, an enormous art mural project, in collaboration with Texas and French cancer patients from the Fondation Lanval in Nice (France), at the entrance of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Along with Michael E. Henry were recognized as Chevalier of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 2019 20 other American personalities such as musicians Charles Lloyd and Kid Créole, painter Kehinde Wiley, Boston Lyric Opera artistic director Esther Nelson, Boston Symphony Orchestra director Mark Volpe and New Orleans Museum of Art director Susan Taylor.
The Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) is an Order of France established in 1957 by the Minister of Culture. It aims to reward the people who have stood out by their creations in the fields of art or literature, or by their contributions in the propagation of French art and literature in the World.
