SC Arts Alliance

10/23/2026

Palmetto Luna Arts Announces Inaugural Latina Emerging Artist Award for Shakira Olivera Bautista

Blue Reminder Notification Instagram Post.png

When a door closes on an artist, we can choose to open another. When injustice happens, we can choose to act.

Palmetto Luna Arts is proud to announce Shakira Bautista Olivera as the inaugural recipient of its Latina Emerging Artist Award, created in response to the South Carolina Arts Commission Board of Commissioners’ decision to exclude her from its Emerging Artist Cohort.

When we learned that Shakira had been recommended for the grant by an independent panel but was ultimately denied funding, we knew we could not stand aside. As a statewide Latino arts organization, we believe we have a responsibility to stand up for our artists when they face injustice, discrimination, and barriers to opportunity.

We refuse to let rejection be the end of the story. We choose to turn it into action.

This award is our commitment to Shakira and to the broader community of Latino artists in South Carolina. It is about more than recognition. It is about defending artistic expression, creating opportunities, and making sure our artists have the resources and platforms to share their work with the world.

This award will include:

A solo exhibition in 2027 to showcase Shakira’s work and artistic vision.
Featured artist recognition at Palmetto Luna’s upcoming Day of the Dead Festival, celebrating Latino art, culture, and community.
Featured artist participation in Traditional Grabados Latinos: Printmaking as Cultural Memory and Community Voice, a project celebrating printmaking as a powerful expression of identity, cultural memory, and community voice.
Fundraising support to help replace the funding Shakira lost when she was excluded from the SC Arts Commission’s Emerging Artist Cohort.
Additional opportunities through Palmetto Luna Arts programs and events to expand her visibility, build connections, and advance her artistic career.
This is only the beginning.

The Latina Emerging Artist Award is intended to become an ongoing commitment to artists facing discrimination, exclusion, and barriers to opportunity. We will respond not with silence, but with solidarity. Not with despair, but with action. Not by closing doors, but by creating new ones.

At Palmetto Luna Arts, we believe that when our artists rise, our communities rise with them.

We stand with Shakira. We stand with our artists. And we will keep creating opportunities where others close doors.

The denied grant implied $1.8K in support. Palmetto Luna has already committed funding to replace part of Shakira’s lost grant. Help us reach our goal to replace the entire funding by donating through our donation page and specifying "Shakira" in the message box.

https://www.paluna.org/giving-page-1-1

Palmetto Luna Arts — Fostering Latino arts and culture in South Carolina since 2008.

Learn more at www.paluna.org.

10/22/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for Board Engagement and Cultivation for Arts Organizations!

The SCAA is proud to support the professional growth of arts leaders, build connection within the arts community, and empower organizations to strengthen their work.

🗓 Mark your calendars for our next workshop on April 15th! >> https://scartsalliance.com/board-management-training/

⏰ SCAA members get early access to registration when it opens! >> scartsalliance.com/join

10/21/2026

Have you voted yet? Early voting for the General Election is October 19-31!

Arts and culture are essential to a thriving democracy 🎨🗳️ That's why we are partnering with Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund for the 2026 campaign.

Ensure the arts are heard at the ballot box: artsvote.org.

10/16/2026

🚨 Yesterday, the SC Arts Commission Board of Commissioners used the recently adopted policy on work that "promotes ideology" to deny funding to a potential artist grantee.

Commissioners also discussed adopting additional policies regarding “obscenity” to be more stringent than existing state law.

The South Carolina Arts Alliance believes deeply in the value of the state arts agency. This is why we are so troubled to see its appointed leaders acting in a way that is harmful to the arts, inconsistent with its mission, and contrary to objective process.

We are continuing to fight for free expression, transparency and fidelity in public institutions, and the well-being of the arts in South Carolina.

Arts advocates, please continue to submit comments to the Commission and let them know that censorship has no place in art.

Read our full update here >> https://tinyurl.com/537pe6vt

10/15/2026

The South Carolina Arts Commission Board of Commissioners will meet today at 10 AM in Greenville.

The agenda, and a Zoom link to watch the meeting, will be available on this page:

The governing body of the SCAC is composed of nine volunteer S.C. citizens appointed at large for three-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

10/06/2026

UPDATE: The meeting for today has been cancelled. Link to the press release from SCAC in the comments.

The South Carolina Arts Commission Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting today at 2 PM to vote on a candidate for the agency's next Executive Director. You can watch the meeting at the Zoom link available on this page before the meeting:

https://www.southcarolinaarts.com/about-the-scac/board/

10/05/2026

https://www.scartshub.com/s-c-arts-commission-announces-board-leadership-change/

Your source for the arts in South Carolina & beyond.

10/03/2026

🚨 Important deadlines for the November election are here!

Check your voter registration: https://vrems.scvotes.sc.gov/Voter/Login?PageMode=VoterInformation

Arts and culture are essential to a thriving democracy 🎨🗳️

That's why we are partnering with Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund for the 2026 campaign.

Ensure the arts are heard at the ballot box: https://www.artsvote.org/

10/01/2026

Today, the SCAC Board of Commissioners denied funding to the Greenville Gay Men's Chorus and Proud Mary Theatre. The decision came after the organizations had met all stated requirements, were recommended for grants by an independent panel, and underwent additional scrutiny -- something not asked of any other grantees.

From SCAA Executive Director, Jeff Robinson:

"Arts organizations throughout the state rely on the consistency and objectivity of the grant making process to plan, program, and provide meaningful arts experiences for the communities they serve... Whether intentional or not, 5 Commissioners have now signaled that those communities are somehow less artistic, less meritorious, or less deserving of access to institutions that are supposed to serve all South Carolina citizens."

Read our full update here >> https://tinyurl.com/kjmpeu8p

10/01/2026

Today at 2 PM the South Carolina Arts Commission Board will hold a special meeting to cast the deciding vote on Operating Support grants for Greenville Gay Men's Chorus and Proud Mary Theatre Company. The meeting is streaming live on Youtube here:

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.