Call for Luminaria 2024 festival artists now open

Interested artists can apply online to be feature in this year’s Luminaria. Photo by Mike Farquhar, courtesy Luminaria

Attention artists: Luminaria recently put out a call for artists for their next Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival tentatively scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2024. The locations is TBA later but all interested artists are welcome to apply online.  (Luminaria, 2024)

Visual artists, theater performers, digital artists, installation artists, musicians, poets, and all other form of artists interested in showcasing their artwork at the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival 2024 can apply. There are stages and buildings eagerly waiting to be filled with the talented work of a few creative and passionate artists to be selected by extraordinary curators.

Applications will be evaluated by a curatorial committee made up of local working artists and art experts. Featured Artists will be notified in April followed by site-visits, consultations, mentorship, a photo shoot, spotlight videos, media interviews, and networking opportunities. A public announcement of the festival line-up will be held in September.

Luminaria is a dynamic nonprofit arts organization dedicated to producing and promoting the arts to the city of San Antonio. Luminaria is an inclusive organization celebrating the visual and multimedia arts in San Antonio through public engagement and active support for artists. It was founded in 2008 by local arts advocates wanting to create a communal celebration for the city’s arts organizations and artists. Since adopting a new strategic plan in 2021, Luminaria is dedicated to the innovative interpretation of San Antonio’s culture, history, and environment through creative placemaking and site-specific arts integration. Luminaria coordinates with anchor arts institutions, cultural and heritage organizations, and other community partners to foster a vibrant and internationally resonant arts culture in the city.

Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival at Hemisfair

Texas artists and groups representing over 200 individual artists will showcase live music, large-scale art installations, film, dance, fine art, theatre, poetry, and fashion at San Antonio’s iconic nighttime celebration of the arts. Photo: Luminaria

On Saturday November 13, the opening ceremonies at 5:30p.m. will kick off the official 2021 Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival, the most prominent arts festival in South Texas. The ceremony will begin with a blessing from the elders of Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, followed by remarks from Yadhira Lozano, Luminaria Executive Director, and Jesse Borrego, 2021 Honorary Curatorial Committee Chair. City of San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Mayor Phil Hardberger, founder of Luminaria, will be onsite as honorary guests. (Luminaria, 2021)

The Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival, a nighttime celebration of the arts, will be held from 6pm to midnight featuring more than 200 individual artists from across Texas, highlighting live music, fine arts, film, digital art, dance, theatre, fashion, poetry, and large-scale art installations.

Casa De Ojos founder and award-winning artist, Fabian Alejandro Diaz, will present a fashion show, “Metamorphosis.” Deanna Arriaga will offer “An Immersive Experience” light show. Justin Parr and Adam Smolensky will present a large, neon sculpture honoring San Antonio’s famed Rose Window. URBAN-15’s performance will feature lasers and a drumming show. Breathe Collective, a BIPOC San-Antonio-based artist collective, will offer creative experiences of reflection and healing through breathing. Austin-based dadaLab will install four lit towers to offer an immersive art, technology and science designing experience.

This festival is free and open to the public and it will be held at Hemisfair, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, and the San Antonio Riverwalk with plenty of outdoor space to socially distance and enjoy the art. Full festival lineup is available online

Hemisfair, Luminaria Main Stage
434 S Alamo St.
San Antonio, TX 78205 (between Yanaguana Garden and the Mexican Cultural Institute)

Main Stage at Hemisfair
6p.m. IlaIla Minori
7p.m. Jeremy Kingg/Satara
8p.m. Heartless The Monster
9p.m. Bombasta
10p.m. Los Texmaniacs feat. Flaco Jimenez
11p.m. Pop Pistol

Film Stage at River Walk
6p.m. Film Loop
7p.m. Anna De Luna
7p.m. Film Loop
8:30p.m. URBAN-15
9p.m. Film Loop
9:30p.m. Casa De Ojos
10:30p.m. URBAN-15
11p.m. Film Loop
11:45p.m. End

Market Stage at Convention Center (Merida Plaza)
6p.m. Eddie Vega
6:45p.m. Paula Cortez
7:45p.m. DeAnna Brown
8:45p.m. Ballet Folklórico Sol de San Antonio
9:45p.m. Patricia Vonne