By Edmond Ortiz
Forty-five San Antonio-based artists and two local filmmakers recently received grants that support their current or upcoming project, and that recognize their talent
Valdez a MacArthur ‘Genius’
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation on Sept. 29 announced its 2026 class of fellows, who are also called “geniuses” in their respective discipline, and the recipient of no-strings-attached $800,000 grants.
This year’s MacArthur Foundation fellowship class of “geniuses” includes Vincent Valdez, a San Antonio native and visual artist who is hailed for his depicting historical and modern-day scenes that reflect the Latino experience in contemporary United States.
“(Valdez’s) work draws from Chicano artistic traditions that center political and social histories often obscured in mainstream media,” a fellowship description about Valdez read on the MacArthur website.
“At the same time, his detailed imagery and cinematic compositions are in dialogue with Western traditions of narrative history painting and portraiture. Across his body of work, Valdez goes beyond depicting past moments of injustice to interrogating how injustice, violence, and resistance persist in the present.”
San Antonio artists receive city grants
The San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture in late September announced 45 San Antonio-based artists picked to receive grants of $7,500 or $15,000 as part of the city’s fiscal year 2027 artist grants program.
Artist grants support new, original work that will be publicly debuted over the next 18 months, according to a press release. Grantees work in different artistic fields, including literary, media, multi-disciplinary, performing, and visual arts.
Vincent Valdez is one of the FY 2027 artist grant recipients along with Albert Alvarez, Alex Casso, Alfredo Avalos, Amalia Ortiz, Bill Baird, Carla Santillana, Casey Galloway-Metz, Celeste De Luna, Celeste Guzman Mendoza, Chayito Champion, Chris Suniga, Cloud Delfina Cardona & Diamond “MANTÉ” Braxton, DeAnna Brown, Debra Elana, Dragonfly (Robin LaVerne Wilson), Federico Chavez Blanco, G. Beatriz “Triz” Rodriguez, George Cisneros, ire’ne lara silva, Isaac Bustos, Jacob Glombowski, and Jacob Mena.
Also: Jennifer Hughes, Joe De La Cruz, Jose Raul Corres, Jose Sotelo Yamasaki, Julie Ledet, Laurel Luke Christensen, Laurie Ann Guerrero, Leo Barrios and Reggie De La Garza, Lisa Nigro, Marcelino Rodriguez Jr., Marcy McChesney, Marco Vargas, Maya Sokovic, Monica Bosch, Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga, Nurlan Kinrbayev, Patricia Torres, Saige Thomas, Sarah Gonzales Busse, sumRset Movement, Wayne Ching and Xelena Gonzalez.
“San Antonio’s artists are essential to the cultural life of our city,” Krystal Jones, arts and culture department director, said in a statement.
“Funding artists means giving them the support they need to develop, grow, and keep creating the work that moves us. And when we invest in them, we not only strengthen their artistic careers, but we also expand access to meaningful and enriching experiences that inspire both residents and visitors across San Antonio.”
Local filmmakers nab grants for current projects
The Austin Film Society in September announced 14 Grants for Feature Films recipients including San Antonio’s Leo Aguirre and Camille Morales-Zayas.
The AFS has spent 30 years awarding grants to emerging filmmakers, with the money supporting pre-production, production, or post-production of the recipients’ feature-length project.
Each of this year’s AFS grant recipients receive up to $20,000. Currently in post-production, “Verano” is a narrative feature drama that follows two teenagers – one a U.S. citizen, the other an asylum-seeking Central American youth who is being fostered by the former’s parents.
Raised along the U.S./Mexico border, Aguirre is a filmmaker and photographer whose projects have been concentrated on advertising, music videos, and narrative landscapes. Aguirre’s “Verano” script was chosen for the 2025 Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Lab in California, where he and fellow participants got to develop their script under the guidance of accomplished creative advisors.
Aguirre is also a recipient of the 2025-2026 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars)’ Nicholl Fellowship, a program that identifies and helps to nurture emerging screenwriting talent.
A native Puerto Rican and a current professor at UT San Antonio, Morales-Zayas is leading pre-production on her narrative feature, “Alma.” The writer/director/producer’s films “tell intimate stories that focus on universal themes surrounding grief, love and human connection within relationships,” according to her website.
Morales-Zayas’ films have been screened in festivals such as San Antonio’s CineFestival, Berlin Indie Film Festival, and the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival. In addition to the $20,000 grant, Morales-Zayas received a New Texas Voices Award
