With focus and great energy, the Southwest School of Art preserves visual art forms and cultural traditions, while offering comprehensive studio classes focused on innovative contemporary interpretations of those traditions.

Artistic excellence, community relevance, historic preservation and dynamic contemporary exhibitions are the school's guiding principals. Departments are:
· Painting & printmaking
· Ceramics
· Jewelry & metals
· Photography
· Paper & Book arts
· Fiber arts
· Digital imaging

The Southwest School of Art is located in downtown San Antonio, on the site of the historic Ursuline Convent and Academy. The convent was first established in 1851, when seven French nuns from New Orleans and Galveston arrived in San Antonio with the purpose of starting San Antonio's first school for girls. The site expanded throughout the 1850s and 1860s, when the dormitories and chapel were designed by French-educated architect and city planner Francois Giraud. The Academy operated in its downtown location until 1965. After the academy moved, the San Antonio Conservation Society purchased the property, and in 1971, offered it to the Southwest Center.

Over the next ten years, with the leadership and vision of its founding members, the Southwest Center purchased the property from the Conservation Society and restored the buildings and gardens. It is now a Texas Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The most recent expansion of the School was the opening of the newly renovated Navarro Campus building, adding 33,000 square feet of studio and exhibition space in 1998. This was also the occasion for the renaming of the institution to the Southwest School of Art. The SSA estimates that approximately 250,000 visitors and students participate in its events and programs every year.