LUMINARIA

Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival organizers have announced a call for artists for 2022.

Thousands swarmed Hemisfair in downtown San Antonio on Saturday for the return of Luminaria, after the event was canceled last year.

The schedule is set for the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival, which will return to Hemisfair in downtown San Antonio this weekend.

The Great of the Serpent sculpture that was stolen just days before it was to be displayed at the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival has been found, accoring to a post from the festival’s Facebook page.

A second ¡VIVA! telethon on Saturday, hosted by musician Garrett T. Capps, will raise funds for San Antonio artists.

In what San Antonio musician Garrett T. Capps promises will be "better than Fiesta," the ¡Viva! live telethon is back for a second round. ¡Viva!...

In a virtual press event Tuesday, San Antonio-based arts organization Luminaria awarded a total of $54,000 to winners of its 2021 Luminaria Artist Foundation Grants Program....

Luminaria celebrates contemporary art with edgy installations and performances in downtown San Antonio annually.

click to enlarge Courtesy of LuminariaSan Antonio arts nonprofit Luminaria has been named one of the recipients of the National Endowment of the Arts' Grants for Arts Projects.The organization has been granted $35,000 to support its annual Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival. "Now more than ever, our arts community is working to bring light and inspiration to everyone affected by the global pandemic," Luminaria Executive Director Yadhira Lozano said in a statement. "Funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival comes at a crucial time when artists are adapting and creating innovative ways to stay connected. These funds will go a long way in helping us continue to bring the contemporary arts to San Antonio and beyond. For 2021, the Contemporary Arts Festival is scheduled for November 13.

click to enlarge Facebook / LuminariaLuminaria has opened the application window for its 2021 Artist Foundation Grants , which offer Bexar County creators up to $10,000 each to fund new, original work. "As we enter a new year of uncertainty, Luminaria is offering local artists the opportunity to focus on the next phase in their career," Executive Director Yadhira Lozano said in a news release. "It is during challenging times that artists respond with new and exciting creations, and we want to support them as they usher in the next artistic movement for the greater San Antonio community. "The grant program awards artistic achievement and dedication to artistic disciplines including literary, visual and performing arts. Luminaria will grant up to $500 to San Antonio artists applying for professional development and technical assistance.That grant, fully funded by the City of San Antonio's Department of Arts and Culture, covers expenses such as workshops, conferences, seminars, software, production services and other expenses involved in art creation.

click to enlarge Mariaelena ArochaYadhira Lozano will serve as Luminaria's new executive director. Luminaria has named San Antonio native Yadhira Lozano as its new executive director.Lozano will succeed Kathy Armstrong in the position. Armstrong served as Luminaria's executive director for more than five years.“As Luminaria enters 2021, the Board is excited that Yadhira Lozano will be spearheading this new adventure as executive director. Luminaria presents the best of who we are and attracts an audience that seeks to be immersed in the arts. "According to Luminaria, Lozano begins her transition and leadership succession this month and will take over fully from Armstrong in 2021.

click to enlarge Courtesy of LuminariaVioleta De Leon Davila's They Taught You Wrong Metanoia- A Transformative ChangeDedicated to providing and promoting the art in San Antonio, nonprofit art organization Luminaria Artist Foundation is collaborating with six community partners for a fall series presenting the artwork of its 2020 grantees.From Wednesday, October 21 through Friday, October 31, Luminaria invites locals to take a COVID-conscious sneak peek of the artists' projects in a special works-in-process series. Ranging from visual exhibitions to socially distanced performances, the series seeks to provide a way to safely engage with the arts as the pandemic continues.According to an email announcement, to achieve their aspiration of getting the six grantees' work into "the hands, eyes, ears, hearts and minds of everyone," Luminaria will present the art throughout the city with the help of community partners Devil's River Whiskey Distillery, the San Antonio River Authority, the San Antonio Public Library, the San Antonio Botanical Garden, VIA Metro Transit and the Majestic Theatre.The series will feature Mark McCoin's; Pamela Martinez's; Octavio Quintanilla'sJenelle Esparza's; Raul Rene Gonzalez'sand Violeta De Leon Davila'sThough the exact times and dates of the week and a half long showcase have yet to be released, interested art-lovers can keep their eyes on Luminaria's website social media or email newsletters for further information.

click to enlarge Courtesy of LuminariaOn the heels of last weekend's telethon fundraiser , the Luminaria Artist Foundation has opened up a second round of Corona Arts Relief Grants.After applications flooded in for the first round of the emergency grants in April, the organization had to close its submission window early. Now, local artists have another chance to apply for up to $600 in emergency funding, which is intended to make up for lost revenue during the pandemic and to provide opportunities for professional development.Interested parties have until 5 p.m. on May 21 to submit applications online

click to enlarge Courtesy of LuminariaThe first casualty of the San Antonio's arts funding cuts has been revealed: Luminaria's annual Contemporary Arts Festival.This morning, the organization announced it's cancelling this year's event, originally scheduled for November 14 at Hemisfair. How Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival is a beacon of light that sparks the imagination and unites us through the arts, which is why our organization will continue to develop innovative arts programming," the statement continued. "Luminaria remains committed to bringing you the creative events you love. "Additionally, Luminaria's current call for artists remains open, with a deadline of April 20. All who apply this year will be considered for the 2021 Contemporary Arts Festival.

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. “All the theater work, I had a show at the Woodland Theater, recently, that I was music directing and it got postponed,” Ramirez said. So, he’s spreading the word about the arts relief program to his fellow musicians. “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.

The Artist Foundation is no more. Operations of the Artist Foundation of San Antonios regranting program will be taken over by Luminaria, an arts nonprofit charged with running the citys only contemporary arts festival, beginning with the 2020 regranting cycle, Racca-Sittre said. Since 2006, the Artist Foundation has annually granted up to $92,000 to at least one artist in each of three categories: performing arts, visual arts, and literary arts, with each artist receiving between $5,000 and $15,000 for their individual projects. Department of Arts and Culture funding totaled $40,000 each year in the three-year 2018-2020 funding cycle, with 2020 funding remaining to be distributed. The Artist Foundation was founded in 2005 by artists Bettie Ward and Patricia Pratchett to assure San Antonio artists continued opportunities and support, according to its website.

click to enlarge LuminariaEvent Details Luminaria @ Hemisfair 434 S Alamo San Antonio, TX When: Sat., Nov. 9, 7-12 a.m. Price: Free Art and Special Events MapSupersized cicadas, a jumbo take on Twister, a meditation temple and a Miami-based artist known as HotCheetoMami are but a few of the curiosities to expect from this years Luminaria, the multimedia arts festival launched by former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger back in 2008.In preparation for its third consecutive year at Hemisfair, the nonprofit organization welcomed a new team of curators Amber Ortega, Christopher Rodriguez, Gary Sweeney, Katherine Sotelo and Libby Day to help vet project proposals from around the world. Boasting an eclectic array of presentations by more than 50 local, national and international creators taking place on multiple outdoor stages, indoor venues and points in between, the kid-friendly event wont be easy to fully absorb without an informed plan of attack (visit luminariasa.org for a map, schedule and full artist lineup). In addition to the light projections and illuminated installations that have become Luminaria hallmarks, the 12th annual affair brings together works tackling such timely themes as intersectionality, immigration and LGBTQ* identity.After kicking off with a few words from Mayor Ron Nirenberg, the festivals Main Stage (on the north side of the Magik Theatre parking lot) will host Denver-based acrobatic fire spinners Lunar Fire, local artist Amalia Ortizs punk-rock musical The Cancin Cannibal Cabaret and psychedelic rockers the Holy Knives, among others. Several promising highlights of this years fest take place on the Film Stage (on the river level outside the Convention Center), including a collaboration between life-affirming art-rock band Buttercup and Emmy-winning filmmaker Alejandro DeHoyos, Edward Tyndalls documentary exploring Cheech Marins famed Chicano art collection, local artist and educator Sabra Booths animation Walled Off, which looks at the damaging effects of Trumps border wall on the National Butterfly Center in the Rio Grande Valley and Mrs. Clean, a short film by 20-year-old YouTuber Daisy Cornejo (aka HotCheetoMami).Other site-specific creations to look out for as you navigate the park alongside a projected crowd of 20,000 include Austin-based Robert Barts giant glowing cicada shells, former Texans Tom Turner and Carol Cunningham Turners inflatable, interactive Mission Moon Glow, Canadian artist Justin Tates Twister-inspired painting installation Touch Me and a collaborative installation by theater artist Marisela Barrera, vocalist Alyson Alonzo and photographer and curator Kristel A. Orta-Puente. If all this leaves you wanting a bit of peace and quiet, seek out Nigerian artist Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiyas Asopomora Connectivity, a woven canopy temple featuring a meditation space for viewers to reflect on generational connectivity and perceptions of home.