The Historic Site

The Ursuline Campus of the Southwest School of Art & Craft, on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on the edge of downtown San Antonio, on the scenic River Walk.

On this historic site, a convent was established in 1851, when seven Catholic nuns arrived in San Antonio to start San Antonio's first school for girls. The complex expanded throughout the 1800s under the architectural direction of Francois Giraud.

In 1965, the Sisters moved the academy because the historic buildings had fallen into serious disrepair, and the San Antonio Conservation Society purchased most of the property. In 1971, they offered it to a fledgling art school serving the San Antonio community. Over the next ten years, with the help of many benefactors, the art school purchased the property and restored the buildings and grounds, a process which continues today. (Scroll down to read more about the history of the Southwest School of Art & Craft.)

In 2006, the school was given a National Honor Award for Preservation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in recognition of its work to protect the historic site. “The Southwest School of Art and Craft is an inspiring example of adaptive use and good stewardship,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust. “What was once a vacant campus surrounded by parking lots has been transformed into a dynamic education center that has catalyzed the redevelopment of a once-blighted section of downtown San Antonio.”

Among the historic highlights are the elegant architecture of the two-story buildings constructed of local limestone, the beautiful chapel with some of the original stained glass windows, and the surrounding gardens and courtyards. Visitors are welcome to explore a small history-oriented museum on the campus, open Monday - Saturday from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Read more of the story of the intrepid women who, throughout the last two centuries, founded, saved and then re-purposed the school, and learn more about the architectural and historic impact of the Ursuline Campus, by clicking here for a PDF document containing more detail.

The Art School - A (Very) Brief Timeline 

1963	Margaret Pace Willson invites artists to her home to discuss the future of the visual arts in San Antonio.
1965	The Southwest Craft Center is incorporated as a nonprofit to “promote education in the visual arts and crafts…”
1967	Founders Helen Marie Hendrie, Nancy Negley, Maggie Saunders Block, Edith McCallister and Betty Urschel meet at Bob Winn's gallery to organize the opening of the Southwest Craft Center.
1968	The Southwest Craft Center opens in La Villita.
1969	Saturday Morning Discovery, an arts education program for children, begins in the school’s first location, a gallery in San Antonio’s historic La Villita area.
1970	First adult art classes begin. Original instructors include Bruce Duderstadt, Terry Gallagher, Mary Green, Jamie Killian, Patsy Light, Kathryn Y. Maxham, Martha Mood, Josie Neal, Linda Pace, Margaret Pace and Nancy Pawel.
1971	The fledgling art school moves, at the invitation of the San Antonio Conservation Society, to the historic but dilapidated Ursuline Convent and Academy site. The school holds its first art exhibition in the former Chapel.
1973	The Dormitory Building is officially open, and the school holds a two-day arts festival called “Folk Craft Experience,” now called Fiesta Arts Fair.
1974-1976	San Antonio civic and cultural leaders piece together purchases, gifts, and money for renovation, as the site begins to come back to life.
1977	Dennis Smith named head of the Ceramics Department, and the Weaving and Fibers Studio inhabits the former Priest’s House.
1981	Claire Holliday becomes Chair of the Metals Department. Following ten years of committment and effort, the entire historic site has now been purchased.
1982	The Edith McAllister Ceramics Studio opens.
1984	With Jeffrey Moore as the school’s Director, Margaret Pace Willson donates funds to launch the Picante Papermaking Studio, the first papermaking studio in the region.
1987	Director Jeffrey Moore leaves and Ric Collier arrives. The school is named “Best Artists Organization in the State” by the Texas Arts Alliance, and co-hosts the 6th Annual Texas Sculpture Symposium.
1988	Robert Hils, who had worked with Kay Maxham, is named Fiber Department Chair
1989	The school hosts the Society of North American Goldsmiths national conference. Visiting and exhibiting artists include Joyce J. Scott, ceramist William Wilhelmi, video artist Randy Twaddle and Chicago painter Hollis Sigler. Beck Whitehead becomes Paper and Book Arts Department Chair. Pioneering developer Bernard L. Lifshutz begins his first of five years as President of the Board of Trustees.
1990	Collaborative exhibitions held with the San Antonio Art Institute and the Blue Star Art Space, where work by Jun Kaneko was shown. Exhibitions at the school included installations by Faith Ringgold and Patrick Siler. The school organizes its innovative Mobile Arts Program for bringing visual arts to children throughout the community.
1993	Photographer William Wegman is a visiting artist, and solo exhibitions are presented by James C. Watkins, Judy Bankhead and Terry Ybanez.
1996	New Director Paula Owen arrives. Korean national treasure Cho Ki-Jung and textile artist Akemi Nakano Cohn lead workshops.
1997	A contemporary metals exhibition, Hard Evidence, includes U.S. metalsmiths Harlan W. Butt, Allison McGeorge, C. James Meyer and Diane Falkenhagen. Jim LaVilla-Havelin joins the school as its Director of Young Artist Programs.
1998	Renovation of a former Sears Automotive Center is complete and the new Navarro Campus opens, encompassing the Russell Hill Rogers Gallery, the Ellison Lecture Hall, and large, sophisticated studios specifically designed for visual arts. The Board renames the school: Southwest School of Art and Craft. The Painting, Drawing and Printmaking Department is established with the donation of printmaking equipment from the McNay Art Museum; early the next year, artist Margaret Craig is named its Chair.
2000	Rudolf Staffel given first Distinguished Artist Award. The Willard H. Lende Photography Department’s well-equipped darkroom facilities are dedicated.
2001	Zierat, an exhibition originated at the art school, is its first to travel internationally. Victor Pagona is named Photography Chair.
2002	Exhibitions by Katie Pell, Suzanne Paquette, Veronica Fernandez, Steve Davis, Art Guard and Jose Guadiana bring attention to local/regional artists; Mexican artist Paula Santiago and a national ceramics exhibition, Big Head, keep the perspective outbound as well.
2003	American glass artist icon Dale Chihuly enjoys a major exhibition at school. A Ken Little retrospective exhibition, Little Changes, is organized by the art school and travels nationally. Eleven of the country’s most intriguing weavers present The Hive Project, and it, as well as another group exhibition, Playing Around: Toys Designed by Artists, capture local imaginations.
2004	Thirty-four SA artists investigate the complexities of water in the exhibition H2O: Considering the Hydrosphere. San Antonio artist Gary Sweeny, Tom Wright (the school’s first photography instructor and a celebrated ‘60s and ‘70s rock & roll photographer), and nationally-known sculptor Catherine Lee all have solo exhibitions.
2005	A solo exhibition by Angel Rodriguez-Diaz starts the year; one by Yuriko Yamiguchi ends it. The leading papermaking group, Friends of Dard Hunter, holds its international conference here, and Indonesian performance and puppetry artist Endo Suanda is visiting artist. Ceramicist Steve Reynolds mounts a major retrospective, alongside a national ceramics survey exhibit, The Visceral Vessel. A Certificate Program is instituted to recognize serious students.
2006	The iconic Mexican game Lotería illuminates the summer with an exhibition of local artists’ interpretations, and the Fotoseptiembre exhibition, Casting a New Light, is named “best exhibition of the year” for its multi-faceted, interactive approach to contemporary works using arcane processes.
2007	Japanese artist and philosopher Akiiko Izukura shows his silk sculptures and leads a fiber dyeing ritual. The school partners with the San Antonio Museum of Art to bring a blockbuster exhibition, The Baroque World of Fernando Botero, to the entire San Antonio community. Dennis Smith marks his 30th year heading the ceramics program.
2008	A sculptural fountain by Jesus Moroles honoring Margaret Pace Willson is installed at the entrance to the historic site. Gary Schott replaces Claire Holliday as Chair of the Metals Department.

The Alamo, San Fernando Cathedral, and the old Ursuline school are the three great buildings in downtown San Antonio — the ones that
give it its historic flavor
San Antonio architect
— Chris Carson, Ford Powell & Carson

...a true urban oasis, in the city and of the city, but exuding a sense of grace, tranquility and history.