06 Nov Art Schools Are Gone, But the Creative Voices Remain

San Antonio once had two major art schools shaping the next generation of creatives: the International Academy of Design and Technology and The Art Institute. Both are now gone. What they left behind isn’t just empty classrooms. It’s a creative generation that had to teach itself how to survive.

For many of us, those schools were more than programs. They were launch pads. They gave structure to ambition. When they closed, it wasn’t just an educational loss. It was a cultural one.

When the Doors Closed

The Art Institute shut down in 2023 after a national collapse. The International Academy of Design and Technology, known to most as IADT, had already disappeared years earlier, leaving hundreds of aspiring artists, stylists, and designers without a place to continue their education.

Universities like the University of the Incarnate Word and UTSA still offer creative programs, but they don’t replace what these institutions represented. They were focused spaces built for exploration, failure, and discovery. They gave students a place to find their voice before the industry found them.

The Ripple Effect

When those doors closed, something shifted. Students stopped seeing art as a realistic path. Many talented people drifted toward safer careers. The local fashion scene slowed down. The mentorship pipeline faded.

But creativity doesn’t disappear. It adapts. It finds smaller spaces, tighter circles, and new ways to breathe. In San Antonio, it found its way into living rooms, small studios, and late-night projects after work. The art never left. The system around it did.

What’s Rising Now

That is where Rise SATX steps in. We didn’t come to replace those schools. We came to rebuild the creative ecosystem they once supported.

We are not a classroom, but we teach. We are not a campus, but we connect. We are building something more fluid — a network of mentorship, collaboration, and opportunity for the artists and designers who still believe in San Antonio.

Every showcase, panel, and membership we develop carries the same goal those schools once had: to give creatives a place to belong, learn, and grow.

The Heart of the Story

Art schools can close, but creative voices do not. They evolve. They move. They find new ground.

San Antonio is still an art city. It just looks different now. The buildings may be gone, but the people are still here, still dreaming, still creating.