Southwest School of Art

Since September I have been taking three community classes at the school. I have no complaints for any of them, in fact, the quality of the staff and facilities have impressed me enough to apply to do my undergrad there as a part of their new BFA program.

Attended Texas Public Radio’s annual event here recently. Food was catered and there were offerings inside and out. The grounds are historical and very nice. The director of the program gave a very nice speech and invited folks to walk around the premises. This is another group of architecturally beautiful buildings that are not well known. Looks like a great place for a special event. Would like to return for a tour!

I used the courtyard and chapel for my wedding. It was amazing. Everything was beautiful. Guests were calling it a castle.
They do have a lot of rules since its a historical site so make sure it will work for you and your wedding needs. Its also a little pricey but you get what you pay for.

This is such a peaceful and beautiful place to get artsy!
This used to be an old nuns’ convent back in the day. They have restored it over the years to its former glory, and took out most of the churchy stuff and replaced it with arts classrooms and galleries.
It’s a really nice place to duck in from the Riverwalk and see some art, or just relax on their ample patio.
They offer all sorts of classes at reasonable prices, both for adults and children. They have art in every medium you can think of, and the instructors are top notch!
There’s all kinds of festivals that they host here year round. My fav has got to be the one they hold during Fiesta, where art vendors from across the country come out and show off their wares. They have a art gallery and a gift shop where you can pick out funky, handmade art from their talented artists in training here.
Be sure to check out their website for a schedule of events and classes!

If you have school children sign them up for Saturday Morning Discovery. They offer pinhole photography, clay, weaving, origami and more

The chefs are always friendly and energetic. Every Friday, they serve up their Fish special — great for the Lenten season. The special comes with a side salad, roasted potatoes, and a roll. They make a special herb dressing concocted of basil, lemon, olive oil — very tasty, and a great choice other than basic ranch for your salad. The fish tasted fantastic topped with the yummy LEMON BUTTER sauce. I opted for a dessert of lemon cake, which was a little too tart for my taste, but had great texture.
Really beautiful atmosphere with stone work and walls adorned with art. I was surprised the location was not as packed as usual for a Friday. Probably due to the fact everyone had to chill from eating out for Valentine’s day.

This is a small cafeteria line style eatery at the Southwest School of Art. I found the servers really helpful. While the menu was pretty basic (a small assortment of sandwiches and some salads), there was a daily special. I sampled the artists salad which was delicious and not a bad deal at $ 7.50 considering the high end ingredients (fresh pear, blue cheese, walnuts, etc). I also had a tuna sandwich which was a bit more boring. The chunk (no puny slice here) of cake that I had was really tasty too.
The staff was really courteous and helpful.

I have been by this place many times but had never stopped in. I was going for a walk along the river and decided to take a peak. The grounds are breathtaking.
I noticed signs pointing to a gift shop, gallery, museum and lunch place. So i ventured in further. The gift shop is a neat little shop with artsy stuff. The little museum is homage to the locations history as a convent school. I did not see the gallery but there were works of art on display in the hall. The lunch restaurant was closed today. Need to check the hours.
This was worth the visit just fir the neat old buildings and beautiful grounds. Everything else a nice bonus.
UPDATE: Unfortunately the gift shop is no longer here.
The café here is the Copper Kitchen. A very nice inexpensive place for a delicious lunch. The menu changes daily but you can call them to see what they are serving that day. I have gotten tasty soups, salads and sandwiches here. Very good lunch fair.

I first had their Almond Squash soup at the Empty Bowls fundraiser and loved it! I had never heard of Copper Kitchen and looked it up online to find that it was hidden away there at the school. I was disappointed with the limited hours but got my aunt to go with me for lunch one day. Very little wait with the cafateria style serving. Beautiful atmosphere and quiet relaxed dining with excellent polite service. I had the Turkey sandwich with cheese and pablano peppers. Not the best ever and could have used some lettuce and mustard but good and toasty. The real delight was the soup and fruit. The soup of the day was Cream of Spinach and Brie. IT WAS AMAZING!!! I wanted to get a gallon to go and eat it all week! The fruit bowl was fresh and tasty and plenty for the price. My aunt got the Fish with salad, potatoes, and roll. It also looked very good and a steal for under 8 $. I will be going back as soon as I can get away from work while they are open. I’m hoping to get the Almond Squash again Omm Nomm Nomm!
5 Star Soup
5 Star Fruit
5 Star Ice Tea
4 Star Sandwich

Southwest School of Arts and Crafts hosts one of the best fiesta events: The Fiesta Arts Fair. It’s a very family friendly event, with over 100 artists booths, live music, and a children’s art garden. I have attended this event at least 6 times, and every year it gets better and better. The artists are not your typical «fiesta» crafters. These artists are hand selected and go through a jury panel. They come from all over the US, and offer a variety of mediums: 2-​D/​3-​D mixed media, ceramics, digital, drawing, fiber, basketry, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood… you get my point. The original art is a bit pricey, but even if you can’t make a purchase it is a blast to walk through and be able to speak directly with the artists, or even purchase prints at a reduced cost. The childrens art garden is in its’ own section towards the back of the school by the SA river. They have stamp art, beading, metal embossing, clay, and stained glass activities for kids. There are also two stages at the event for live music. The food is sponsored by La Margarita, so they have plenty of gorditas, tacos, roasted corn, etc. If the rowdy Fiesta events are not your thing, but you still want to experience some fun this is the event for you.

Tucked somewhere on the grounds of the Southwest School of Art & Craft which is housed in the old Ursiline Academy, is a restaurant I bet most people don’t know exists in San Antonio. They call it the Copper Kitchen. I found the copper oven hood and copper pots and plants so I guess they know what they are talking about when they named it Copper Kitchen.
Still trying to eat healthy, I had a sandwich; cup of soup of the day and a fruit salad.
The tuna sandwich was fresh but a bit bland and ordinary.
The soup was cream of artichoke. This soup was flavorful and more than ordinary.
The fruit salad was plentiful.
My new friend @sandrasantos lunch special was cold. No bueno.
3.4 Stars out of 5
I had great fun exploring the grounds of the old convent. I wanted to see the chapel but it was locked. This old convent sits on the banks of the riverwalk and just across the street from the main library downtown. Check it out sometime.
PS: It has always bothered me that the name of the school that occupies the old convent is called Southwest School of Art & Craft. Everyone knows it’s always Arts & Crafts? Plural.
PPS: I swear I saw an old nun coming toward me with a ruler but she disappeared in a puff of smoke as a janitor crossed her path.
PPPS: The company was 5 stars out of 5.

I was told about this place from a girl I met. She’s an artist and she took some classes here. We were talking about how I was a photographer and wanted to do some more classes and she recommend this place.
I’ve checked it out online and gone by the campus. I talked to a few people on campus and I’ve heard nothing but good things. When I say campus I have to clarify that I don’t mean that they offer any kind of degrees. It’s basically classes that are open to the public. The classes are a bit expensive but if you’re looking to enhance any talent you have this is the place to go.

This review is for the school’s art gallery only, not for the school itself. The gallery is located at the Navarro Street campus, not at the Augusta Street campus. The two campuses are about one block apart and there seems to be some confusion as to which is which.
The Southwest School of Arts & Crafts may be a fine school. However, when we visited, the very limited amount of art displayed in the small gallery and two other still smaller spaces did not suggest that its students were talented.
For our review of the San Antonio experience generally, search for «City of San Antonio» under «Attractions.»

The S.W. School of Art and Craft is a great place that I happened to run across upon a visit to San Antonio. It is a art school focusing on sculpture, printmaking, letterpress printing, book arts, photography and papermaking. They offer weekend workshops, night classes, and a daytime certificate program. The campus is located next to the S.A. central library not far from downtown. The ‘old’ campus is housed in a historic Ursuline convent from the 1800s. The ‘new’ campus, across the street is a few years old and houses the extensive photography labs, papermaking studio and other classes.
I’ve taken a couple of classes (papermaking and photography) and have to say that the facilities are among the best in Texas. The papermaking lab, run by Beck Whitehead, is huge — perhaps 1,500 ft2 of vats, presses, dryers, and hollanders. Ladies, you can boil your kozo here. Amazing. The darkroom in the photo area is large enough inside for an entire class to work beside the instructor. They’ve had some great exhibitions of art, too — Botero, for example.
Worth checking out their class schedule if you are interested in creative stuff. It’s about an hour’s drive down I-​35 from south Austin.