SAN ANTONIO – With a lot of big events cancelled all over the city and with bars, music venues and art galleries closed indefinitely, many local artists are struggling.
Luminaria and the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts and Culture have put together the Corona Arts Relief Program to help each artist with $600 during this time when so many people are out of work.
“We know that in this time, when places like the Tobin, theaters, night clubs and galleries are all closed, that the artist has lost their performance opportunity,” said Luminaria Executive Director Kathy Armstrong.
Jaime Ramirez is a part-time music teacher, a church piano accompanist, a musical theater director and he also does a lot of side work for local singers and bands. And, right now, most of the side jobs are on hold.
“All the theater work, I had a show at the Woodland Theater, recently, that I was music directing and it got postponed,” Ramirez said. “We don’t know when it will be put back on of course. That’s on hold. Some other theater work in early June.. that’s a question mark right now, and all the band and side work is done across the city.”
Armstrong said the arts relief program started accepting applications last week and already more than 100 have applied.
“They are your dancers, they are your poets, they are your visual artists, your sculptors, and performers,” Armstrong said. “They are the people that really bring a lot of life, creativity and culture to the city and so, to read these stories of great need, it is heartbreaking.”
Ramirez said he is OK right now. So, he’s spreading the word about the arts relief program to his fellow musicians.
“Wonderful singer in town, Azul Barrientos, that I play with, I told her to apply for this, Ramirez said. “All her work is music and performance based.”
Click here to fill out an application for the relief program.
You can donate to the Corona Arts Relief Program by clicking here.