Luminaria--San Antonio’s long time celebration of the arts--is going through a rite of passage. That rite is the first hiring of a full time Executive Director. Kathy Armstrong has a long history with art—18 years at the Southwest School of Art, and time with Luminaria itself.
“In 2011 I was an invited curator, and then in 2013 I worked with Richard Rosen and Melissa Marlow as an Associate Artistic Director.”
I asked Ms. Armstrong what she likes most about Luminaria. She likes its scope.
“I love that it pulls all the arts together. It’s a very big, multi-disciplinary event. It has the visual, the music, theater, and the spoken word, and the dance. It really showcases the best of our city and the arts of this time.”
This year it comes in late October.
“Luminaria will be October 23rd and 24th this year, and one of my first priorities will be to work on its footprint.”
Its shifting location has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in the sense that it doesn’t rely on the predictable, but…“Moving it around does involve a lot more people, business, and also challenges.”
Not officially starting her new position ‘til May 15th, Armstrong’s understandably reluctant to tip her hand too much on what to expect.
"The artistic advisory committee that I’m going to put together will be very important because those will be the experts in each of their fields and we will work together to create the perfect magic.”
We’ve more on Luminaria here.
