Southwest School
of Art & Craft
Historic Downtown Oasis
with Contemporary Panache

By CATHY BRILLSON
Photography PAUL LARA

Alongside San Antonio’s meandering River Walk, on the northern edge of downtown, the limestone buildings of the Southwest School of Art & Craft have borne witness to creativity and learning for a century and a half.

Last year, more than 4,000 adults and children studied visual arts at the school, which prides itself as being a professionallevel resource that’s open to anyone who wants to study art or tap into personal creativity. “I’ve attended classes here for 30 years,” says Joyce Bradfield.“because pottery, after real estate, is my passion,and the art school is a central part of my life.”

Strolling visitors from out-of-town, downtown workers and generations of brides all appreciate that the school’s historic campus is a true urban oasis — it’s in the city and of the city, but exudes a sense of grace, tranquillity and history. The Express- News noted that the grounds are “secluded from the whirring speed of downtown by tall trees and the meditative calm of artistry — it’s an oasis."

Originally an Ursuline convent and San Antonio’s first school for girls, the campus is considered one of the country’s outstanding examples of 19th-century French architecture. Among the highlights of today’s lovingly restored historic site are the elegant limestone architecture of the twostory buildings, a beautiful soaring chapel with dark, glossy wood floors, and the surrounding courtyards and gardens, one of which can be entered from the River Walk during business hours.

There’s now a small history-oriented Visitors Center Museum to tell the engaging story of the site’s frontier birth,its demise and near destruction,and its ultimate renaissance as San Antonio’s art school. The buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places,and in the last two years the art school has been honored by three Texas-wide and national awards for historic preservation.

But it’s far from being a mausoleum — “there’s always something interesting going on there; it’s lively” — notes nearby downtown neighbor Kathy Babb of Toolbox Studios.

The modern Navarro Campus, across the street from the historic site, is the location of museum-caliber exhibitions of national and regional artists, which this summer included a rare retrospective exhibition of works by Fernando Botero. Since the art school regularly assembles exhibitions with attitude, as well as a respect for process and diverse materials immaculately presented, the art school is rarely absent from the annual list of San Antonio’s “Best Art Exhibitions.”

“I come here for the best artist-made greeting cards in South Texas,” says lady-about-town Andi Rodriguez. She finds them, along with distinctive jewelry, glass, fabrics and other art for home and table made by leading artists from all over the United States, at the school’s sophisticated Gallery Shop in the Ursuline Dormitory building. The Gallery was a finalist in Niche Magazine’s Art Retailer of the Year award in 2006 and hosts an eclectic holiday shopping event, Art.i.copia, the second Saturday in December (this year, Dec. 8th).

The Copper Kitchen, a weekday lunch cafe that was once the convent refectory, attracts lawyers, doctors, executives and tourists along with local artists and students of all ages. They sit at aged wooden tables while enjoying sandwiches, salads or Lupe Padilla’s daily “Mexican plate” in the rustic limestone room with its tall windows opening to the Zikler Fountain.

Southwest School of Art & Craft president Paula Owen oversees the school’s exhibitions, management and educational offerings and looks to the unique historic site for balance and as a reminder of the school’s mission to further the creative and art-making spirit of all San Antonians.

According to Owen, “To be profound, art must move you in some direction, and for whatever reason, being in this place is a moving experience. Perhaps it’s the architectural details, perhaps it’s the intimate spaces.Or maybe it’s the sense of how the hands-on making of objects comes together with the spirit.”

She concludes, “There’s a human dimension to things here — it’s a place of great authenticity. Our curriculum and the beauty of the setting attract all ages. The grounds are a place of contemplation and ambiance. What happens here is not conceptual, it’s creative, tangible and, most of all,human.”