Point Loma Arts Academy was founded in 1980 by a collaboration of San Diego artists as a community outreach for children and teens. Local artists and crafters recognized declining artistic opportunities for children in traditional public schools, and they developed an integrated approach to the arts -- visual arts, music, dance, and dramatic story-telling. Children and teens were immersed in a full spectrum of artistic activities inspired by story telling and an annual theme.

Within the first ten years, the program grew from 25 children with 3 teachers to 75 children, 5 teachers and 10 teenaged assistants. Today, PLAA serves over 100 children each summer and has a well-established staff of teachers, TAs and administrators. Many of our children have continued their involvement and become teenage assistants and some are now artist-teachers in the program. Others have gone on to major in the arts in college.
Located on the expansive grounds of All Souls Church, projects have taken place indoors and outdoors, at a table, easel, and under a tree, always with the freedom to be messy and hands-on. Children have had the opportunity to follow their imaginations beyond the usual physical confines of a school classroom.

PLAA In The Community

As we grew, it became clear that Point Loma Arts Academy needed to incorporate, and in 1999 we officially and legally became a not-for-profit corporation. As a not-for-profit corporation we have participated in the Sony Art Walk, the Peninsula Cultural Faire, and received a grant from the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, as well as an art exchange with children in war-torn Northern Ireland at Coreymela, a center for reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants.

We have received press coverage by both our local paper, the Beacon, and by Ozzie Roberts of the San Diego Union Tribune.