Founded in 1975, Crealdé was the brainchild of late Winter Park businessman William S. Jenkins. In addition to owning a successful construction company, Jenkins was a talented artist. He established Crealdé to promote community artists by creating affordable studio rental space and a gallery.

Today this successful not-for-profit community arts center offers a year-round curriculum of more than 80 affordable classes in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and ceramics for adults and children. Its faculty is comprised of more than 40 professional working artists who teach beginning, intermediate and advanced classes. Facilities include a professional dark room, ceramics studio, foundry, two galleries and sculpture garden.

Crealde's mission is to stimulate the creative process inherent in each individual through hands-on education, individual arts and to cultivate a lifelong aesthetic pleasure. The mission is realized through comprehensive studio art instruction and interaction with professional working artists presentation of gallery exhibitions and lectures related art activities that stimulate art exploration and specialization, including an extensive outreach program that services at-risk minority youth, individuals experiencing disabilities, and seniors fostering cultural diversity and understanding of pluralism and preservation of our cultural heritage.