In the early 1990s, visual arts education in the Santa Fe Public Schools did not mirror the depth of importance that the visual arts play in Santa Fe’s economic and cultural communities. Recognizing this disparity, several Santa Fe Gallery Association members incorporated ARTsmart and secured nonprofit status in 1997.

ARTsmart developed programs to bolster the art education of Santa Fe’s youth, such as the Children’s Painted Ceramics Project, Honorary Artist Project, and the Visiting Artists in the Schools, in addition to financing art materials.  ARTsmart established the Art Changes Lives Scholarship awarded to a high school senior pursuing the arts in college in 2007.  Soon after, the Edible Art Tour, which began as ARTfeast formed, mobilizing galleries and restaurants across Santa Fe to support ARTsmart’s commitment to bolster art education in Santa Fe’s public schools. 

In 2012, ARTsmart merged with Fine Arts for Children and Teens, a beloved arts organization in Santa Fe. With this merger, ARTsmart’s impact grew to include art workshops and camps in the ARTsmart Community Studio and direct service to schools with limited arts education in Rio Arriba County. 

In 2020, ARTsmart’s staff and the board consolidated ARTsmart’s diverse programs to focus our efforts on the Visiting Artist Program, which brings teachers and working artists together to explore new techniques, media, and philosophies of art with students. ARTsmart’s Visiting Artist program bridges the gap between northern New Mexican art students and its vibrant arts economies and cultural communities.