About the Garcia Center
Mission
The mission of the Antonio E. Garcia Arts and Education Center is to provide evidence-based academic intervention in reading and math for at-risk students, impart school readiness strategies, deliver health education classes to alleviate chronic disease among underserved populations, offer counseling services to vulnerable groups, and cultivate the arts through community awareness projects and cultural events that enhance creative thinking, problem solving and stewardship for all community members.
Learn more about Antonio E. Garcia and how this mission connects with his legacy
About the Center
Our objectives are achieved through programming, partnerships, research, and developing sustainable protocols to ensure the longevity of the Garcia Center's commitment and mission. With experts in the art, education, and health fields as instrumental resources, the Center's objectives can be fully realized enabling a greater impact on the social, economic and physical status of the impoverished Westside district.
Vital to our commitment are the partnerships created with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's College of Education and Human Development, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, College of Nursing and Health and Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, the Art Museum of South Texas, the City of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi Independent School District, and many others. These experts provide the foundation necessary for success in the areas of education, health and art. Such a foundation is fundamental in decreasing dropout rates among at-risk students, increasing college readiness, reducing chronic health problems, improving mental health, building self-efficacy, and promoting a sense of community through culture, stewardship, and acceptance.
The Garcia Center has actively been a part of the community since 1993 and is committed to assisting families susceptible to health risks and low educational attainment. The Center provides a venue for families to celebrate life. Our duty is to continually improve our processes for the people that we serve. We provide a vital contribution to the neighborhood for families to better their education, their health, and their lives.
History
The Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center began as the Center for Hispanic Arts in 1993 to showcase works by Hispanic artists and to bring art into the West Side community. It became part of the South Texas Institute for the Arts (STIA) in 1997. The STIA merged the Art Museum of South Texas on Shoreline at the mouth of the Nueces River, the Creative Arts Center, and the Center for Hispanic Arts. In 1998, the Center was dedicated as the Antonio E. Garcia Arts Education Center, in honor of the noted South Texas artist. In 2004, the responsibility for the Center was shifted to the TAMU-CC College of Education and Human Development, and educational and counseling programming were added to the ongoing arts programming.