WINTER PARK, Fla. — More than 400 Central Floridians were scheduled to start crafting their art skills at Crealdé School of Art this spring. The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of those plans but brought about new ways for the school to connect with its students and community from afar.
“It’s very important that the relationships, which are so special between our students and our teachers, stayed alive,” said Crealdé CEO/Executive Director Peter Schreyer.
Since the Florida stay-at-home order caused the closure of its Winter Park campus, staff have hosted an online festival and planned a virtual exhibition opening for this Friday. The school is also in the middle of a fundraising campaign through United Arts.
Schreyer said students are creating at home and sending photos of their work to their instructors for virtual critiques and feedback. Instructors are posting art prompts with video tutorials, encouraging children and adults to find art in the world around them.
“For the students of Crealdé there’s a lot that they have learned in our classrooms that they can practice at home,” Schreyer said.
READ: Orange County Task Force to discuss reopening plan Tuesday
When the school is given the green light to reopen, hopefully in time for the summer session scheduled to begin June 1, Schreyer said the school plans to implement social distancing protocols and sanitation processes to keep students safe.
Potters wheels and easels will be placed 6 feet apart, and some classes can be moved outside.
He said the silver lining to the pandemic has been the school’s need to innovate its programming out of necessity.
“As with every crisis, it’s not just bad things but you’re also learning new things,” Schreyer said.
The school has long brainstormed about hosting one-on-one lessons and distance learning options to diversify their offerings. Now both of those ideas have been fast-tracked to meet people where they are, or where they feel most comfortable going forward, even after the stay-at-home order is lifted.
Schreyer said those opportunities will help the school reach even more students going forward.
He said one of the most reaffirming things to come out of this crisis is the community’s support of the school and the arts.
Schreyer said of the 430 students who signed up for the canceled spring semester, only 15% asked for a refund. The rest were happy to put their registration money toward a future semester, allowing the school to stay afloat while the campus is closed.
As with other tumultuous times, from weathering hurricanes and recessions, he said it’s important for nonprofit leaders to seek out the good.
“You have to come through it and grow through it,” he said.