SAN ANTONIO – Luminaria celebrates contemporary art with edgy installations and performances in downtown San Antonio each year.
The nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping promote the arts in San Antonio through the Luminaria Contemporary Arts festival, the Luminaria Artist Foundation Grants Program.
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Tuesday, the Luminaria Artist Foundation Grants Program announced its list of grant award winners with $54,000 going to seven Bexar County artists to help them create original work in literary, visual and performing arts - some of which is expected to be on display during this year’s Luminaria festival on Nov. 13.
Three artists received grant awards worth $10,000 - musician Jeremy Kingg, poet and storyteller Eddie Vega and multidisciplinary artist Guillermina Zabala.
Tejana writer Marisela Barrera, filmmaker Justin Rodriguez, visual artist Adriana Garcia and artist DeAnna Brown were all granted awards of $6,000 each.
Jeremy Kingg is a musician whose music is heavily inspired by nature. He is continually experimenting to find and refine his sonic expression. Kingg seeks to amplify the energy transfer that happens between all living beings using his words to mingle his experiences with his listeners’ own inner battles with change and the desire for balance between head and heart. His explorations of the world around him have led him to open mics, house shows, dive bars, as well as the big-name venues San Antonio has to offer. Join this journey of growth, chasing balance and always spreading love and light.
A panel of judges for the grants program scored and selected artists based on their artistic excellence and proposed project description, according to Luminaria officials.
“COVID-19 was a devastating blow to all industries, especially to the arts, which directly impacts the tourism economy of San Antonio,” said Luminaria executive director Yadhira Lozano. “Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to increase funding dollars in record time to help these artists survive financially as our city begins to recover.”
Americans for the Arts estimates that COVID-19 cost $16 billion in losses for nonprofit arts and culture organizations nationally.
The 2021 Luminaria Artist Foundation Grants Program awarded the highest amount of grants, to date, for the nonprofit arts organization. The grant period ends in March 2022 when funded projects, which have yet to be announced, will be completed.