HISTORY

The original Chouinard School of Art was founded by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard near downtown Los Angeles in 1921. Until it's closure in 1972 it was one of the top art schools in the world, with many internationally recognized artists having trained there - its roster of students and teachers reading as a virtual "who's who" of California art.

Since it's inception, Chouinard helped shape visual culture as we know and see it, having a hand in most art movements emanating from the West Coast from 1921 - 1972, including animation, fashion design, the California Watercolor School, architecture, photography, West Coast hard edge painting, West Coast Pop, Light and Space, Film, Ceramics and the art and artists who defined the culture of Surf and Rock.

The more recent resurrection of Chouinard as an idea began in 1998 when Dave Tourje purchased the home of Nelbert Chouinard and contacted Robert Perine, former Chouinard artist and author. In 1999 they incorporated the Chouinard Foundation as a non profit in order to revive the legacy and ideals of Chouinard as an eclectic, relevant institution.

In 2001 the Chouinard Foundation mounted an ambitious and highly touted survey at the Oceanside Museum of Art and two other university galleries. This began the expansion of public awareness which began to bring the Chouinard Foundation's cause to light. By 2002, with the help of many, the new Chouinard School of Art opened in South Pasadena, developing it's program based on the original school.

In 2007, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks granted Chouinard a prestigious public/private partnership to bring the Chouinard School of Art to the youth of LA using the city's recreation centers. With it's current leadership comprised of a new Board of Directors, Advisory Board and Staff, Chouinard has now focused it's attention and intention on this purpose.

Currently a success teaching full classes at Expo Center, an 85,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility near the Coliseum, the new Chouinard At LA Rec And Parks now intends to expand to new recreation centers in order to bring high caliber and affordable art education to interested youth throughout Los Angeles.

The possibilities in this are limitless in scope.