Pat Greene is Bungalower Media’s first sponsored Resident Reporter. Greene has joined our team as our Arts and Culture Correspondent, supported by the efforts of Interstruct Design + Build, an award-winning Orlando-based design and build firm.
Crealde School of Art (Facebook | Website) has been a staple for our art community for half a century.
The private art school was founded in 1975 by William S. Jenkins and has taught many community members, past and present, to draw, do ceramics, weld, sculpt, and countless other mediums. It is not a school where you can seek a degree, but several degree-seeking students from other schools have started or become more adept there.
Since 1995, Peter Schreyer has served as the CEO and Executive Director of Crealde but starting on January 1, 2025, Emily Bourmas-Fry will step into that position and lead the school into a new future.
Schreyer came to the States in 1978 from Switzerland, where he was born and educated. He is an accomplished and acclaimed artist. His medium is photography, primarily documentary photography. Most of his documentation has been of communities. His brilliant black-and-white photos tell nuanced stories of communities.
Emily has been training with Peter for five months, in a concerted effort to smoothly transition to a leadership team without him. She spoke with me about how much she had learned. She is excited to step into this position.
The year 2025 will be the 50th anniversary of Crealde. Emily spoke of the events that will be part of the celebration and the continued effort to bring us great classes, teachers, and facilities.
Since 2007, Crealde has also been operating The Hannibal Square Heritage Center (Website) as a collaboration with the City of Winter Park. The Center focuses on showcasing the history of the area.
Hannibal Square was considered to be West Winter Park in 1880. It was a Black community founded in 1881 around the South Florida Railroad that ran from Orlando to Sanford. The community supplied domestic and construction workers for the wealthy white community in Winter Park. In February, Hannibal will be a part of the 50th anniversary celebration.
There will be an Opening Reception on Friday, February 7 from 8–10 p.m. at Hannibal Square Heritage Center with live music and it will feature the work of P.J. Svedja (Website) and Charles Eady (Website).
Svedja is a graduate of SCAD. She is a painter who focuses on connecting people and she has exhibited extensively. She even founded Studio ArtFarm, a teaching studio and gallery in Mt. Dora.
Eady is an educator and mixed media artist who often works with historical documents, specializing in pre-Civil War life and free black communities, a narrative that disrupts the mainstream narrative.
On January 10 and 11, there will be a two-day workshop at Crealdé’s Main Campus, led by Iranian artist Raheleh Filsoofi, which will teach participants how to craft and decorate traditional darbuka drums using pre-formed clay bases. The workshop blends hands-on ceramic techniques with cultural storytelling, providing a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of art and music.
This is a sampling of what Crealde has in store in the new year and I’m so excited to see what they can do. Emily has a strong background in the arts. She is very approachable and she is brilliant and cares about the community.
I recommend taking a class or classes at the school. Visit the main campus gallery and Hannibal Square’s Heritage Center.
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