Luminaria

The Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival, the largest of its kind in Texas, is designed to inspire, illuminate, and entertain visitors of all ages, backgrounds, interests, and more.  The Festival’s goal is to establish San Antonio as an international arts destination and contribute to San Antonio’s rebounding tourism and hospitality industry, which recently generated its highest ever economic impact. By maintaining the festival free of charge, we ensure that art is accessible to all.

Luminaria empowers the San Antonio’s arts community in creating work for which they otherwise might not have adequate support – including large-scale installations, performance pieces, and high-powered digital art projections. Over the last 17 years, significantly more than one million people have attended the Festival presenting over 3,000 artists, 1,200 installations, and 900 performances. Between 150-250 individual artists participate each year and recent Featured Artists consisted of a diverse group from San Antonio appearing alongside artists from a half dozen states as well as Mexico, Germany, South Korea, the Netherlands, Syria, Canada, England and other international locations.

Luminaria showcases artists year round through art exhibitions, temporary displays, performances, and the Luminaria Working Artists Fund. WAF awards Bexar County artists with grants for professional development activities without restrictions. Artists receive funds to cover equipment travel costs, supplies, materials, software, hardware, collaborator fees, and more. Since 2021, The Working Artist Fund has awarded $92,835 to 187 artists to date.

The Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival will take place on Saturday, October 18, 2025, from 6:00pm to midnight at historic entertainment center St. Paul Square. The festival is free. 

2025 Festival Curators & Team

Nain Leon, internationally renown photographer and conceptual artist

Mauro de la Tierra, San Antonio fine artist, muralist, and large installation artist

Shelly Lares, Tejano music legend, UTSA Artist in Residence, owner of Shellshock Records

Andrea V Rivas, Luminaria Fine Art Curator

Kevin Swanson, Luminaria Logistics Coordinator

Christian Möller, Chief of Marketing

Yadhira Lozano, Executive Director

2025 Working Artist Fund

“Luminaria supports artists year-round to help them advance their career goals through the Working Artist Fund,” said Yadhira Lozano, Luminaria Executive Director. “San Antonio thrives when our artists are able to produce murals, concerts, plays, film, and so much more.”

 

2025 Working Artist Fund Grantees

Barbara Felix, Multidisciplinary          

Victoria Leal, Fine Art                 

Ashley Perez, Fine Art                

Kristina Salinas, Fine Art         

Adriana M Garcia, Fine Art    

Amalia Ortiz, Performance Art             

Sarah Gonzales Busse, Textiles          

Karrington Donald, Music      

Aissa Maese, Music   

Lauren Snow, Fine Art               

Salgu Wissmath, Fine Art       

Marisela Barrera, Performance Art  

Shelly Lares, Music

Who We Are

Luminaria is a dynamic nonprofit arts organization dedicated to producing and promoting the arts to the city of San Antonio by managing three progressive programs: the annual Contemporary Arts Festival, a newly founded artist grants program, and creative placemaking. Luminaria’s projects strive to make the arts accessible to all; support regional, national, and international artists; and create site-specific art experiences while celebrating San Antonio’s vibrant culture, history, and environment.

Save the date of Saturday, November 13, 2021 for the vibrant, inspiring after-dark arts festival in the heart of downtown San Antonio at Hemisfair.