Blue Star Contemporary Art Center

ARTsmart is the umbrella under which all of Blue Star’s educational and community outreach programming takes place.  The ARTsmart directors and staff are dedicated to creating community interaction around art.  ARTsmart develops innovative programs that stir the imagination and inspire people of all ages while connecting Blue Star to the San Antonio community in fun, original ways.  

Blue Star’s ARTsmart program provides mentoring and art enrichment to youth, adults and elders in a safe and nurturing environment. ARTsmart believes in collaborating with other community organizations and employing artists whenever possible. ARTsmart strives to inspire creativity in all areas of the San Antonio community, especially where art education has been discontinued.

ARTsmart is articulated on the premise that art’s fundamental role in the community has seen a progression from private to public service: we seek to connect diverse cultural and demographic groups through the diffusion, appreciation and cultivation of art.  Our courses, public events and public art projects are designed to increase cultural exchange and cohesiveness in the community. Conversely, we foster art as a viable, rewarding career, nurturing and guiding aspiring artists through art instruction, practical advice and mentoring   ARTsmart opens the art studio to the public and takes art into the streets, focusing on collaborative exchanges and promoting visual literacy and expression in the community.

ARTsmart educational programming impacts upwards of 4,000 San Antonio community members each year.