IMAGE VIA MAITLAND ART CENTER
UPDATE: Members of the public are invited to a community open house at the new education studios on September 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Art & History Museums of Maitland (Website) will dedicate its new Que Throm & Cicero Greathouse Education Studios on Thursday, August 27, marking the first major expansion of the historic Maitland Art Center campus since founder J. André Smith’s lifetime.
Orlando Shine reported on the project when it was first approved by the City of Maitland in September 2025. At the time, the expansion was expected to open by spring 2027 and cost an estimated $2.5 million, but they obviously finished well ahead of schedule.
The dedication caps an 11-year vision that began in 2015, when a campus master plan called for expanding into a 1.2-acre parcel on the north and west sides of the property. The land was historically part of Smith’s original Art Center campus and once held his orange grove. It was eventually returned to the museum’s lease by the City of Maitland, which created the opportunity for the campus’s first physical expansion in nearly a century.
The project was made possible through funding from the Estate of Que Throm & Cicero Greathouse, grant funding from Orange County Cultural Facilities, and years of capital investment by A&H.
Designed by architect Mark Straite, the two-building complex draws on the Art Center’s Mayan Revival architecture while introducing a contemporary educational environment. The facilities include a dedicated ceramics studio, three classrooms, and a gallery featuring artwork by Que Throm and Cicero Greathouse alongside pieces by A&H students and instructors.
The new studios will nearly triple the Art School’s instructional capacity. Moving the Art School into the new buildings will also allow A&H to restore the historic Studio Court to its original purpose as working artist studios, expanding the institution’s artist residency program from four studios to seven, a 75 percent increase.
“This expansion brings André Smith’s vision of a living, evolving artist retreat into the twenty-first century. It allows us to modernize and grow our Art School, while also restoring the historic Studio Court to its original purpose as working artist studios.”
– DANIELLE THOMAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The dedication ceremony is invitation-only and will include remarks, tours of the new facilities, and a first look at the gallery and instructional spaces for project supporters, community leaders, elected officials, artists, instructors, and stakeholders. So we’re not going to bother sharing the time with you look-ee-loos.
