From our Friends at Palmetto Luna …
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.
Palmetto Luna Arts — Fostering Latino arts and culture in South Carolina since 2008.
Learn more at www.paluna.org.