Blue Star developed from a grassroots event in July of 1985 through adaptive re-use of a 1920's warehouse along the San Antonio River. As an exhibition space, Blue Star arose from the need to provide a place for the exhibition of the work of contemporary artists in San Antonio. From 1985 to 1988, the organization operated through the efforts of dedicated artists and volunteers. Thereafter, a professional director and staff have managed Blue Star.

In its nineteenth year, Blue Star continues to be an incubator for contemporary art in San Antonio, a city which has become known as a site for numerous cutting edge venues for contemporary art, many of which have spun off the work and example of Blue Star. An event endorsed by the San Antonio City Council in 1989 and founded by Blue Star was Contemporary Art Month; this event has grown to include over fifty collaborating organizations, cultural centers, museums and alternative spaces. Within the four distinct gallery spaces at Blue Star over twenty exhibitions are showcased each year, targeting local, regional, national and international artists from emerging to internationally renown. The development of Blue Star's events and programs have created a social and economic revitalization in the surrounding neighborhoods of the King William Historic District and SouthTown Mainstreet Alliance as well as the Lavaca Historic District, with an estimated $2.6 million invested in re-development and revitalization efforts over the last few years.