CREATE Arts Center

CREATE Arts Center offers youth and teen art classes that include painting, drawing, cartooning, pottery, printmaking, and Art & Mindfulness. The program also offers art therapy, No School Day Camp, Camp CREATE! summer camp, the smARTkids free afterschool program, birthday parties, corporate events such as workplace team building and unicorn birthday parties, and art exhibitions, receptions, and artist talks in the Tamar Hendel Gallery. Adult art classes are available as short workshops or 8-week classes.

• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: The office is generally open Monday–Friday from 8 AM–4 PM, and open hours may change based on class and camp schedules.
• Price: $10.00, $25.00, $50.00, $100.00, $250.00, and custom donation amounts are listed, with an example donation total of $100.00; a gift of $10 helps purchase essential art supplies such as markers and paper for children and adults from low- or fixed-income households who rely on CREATE.

CREATE Arts Center has offered art classes, art therapy, and community outreach since 1986, including programs across the metro region. Its mission is to spark creativity, foster learning, empower individuals and facilitate community connections through the visual arts. CREATE achieves this mission through arts education classes that engage all ages and levels of experience in art-making and recognizes diverse forms of creativity and artistic expression. CREATE provides free and reduced fee services to traditionally marginalized groups, including people living on low and fixed incomes, and states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, physical or mental health, sexual orientation, or any characteristic protected by law.

CREATE’s licensed art therapists provide confidential and compassionate support to children, teens, and adults living with mental health issues such as grief, depression, trauma, and addictions, as well as developmental disabilities and autism. Camp CREATE! is a summer camp for youth ages 8–12 years with minor to moderate behavioral, emotional, and functioning differences who benefit from extra attention and support, and it is designed to teach mindfulness techniques, flexible thinking habits, healthy expression of emotions, improved social interactions, and positive self-image through artistic expression. CREATE offers camps on days throughout the year when school is closed, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Veterans Day, teacher conference days, spring break, winter break, and February break, and its calendars align with MCPS and DCPS schedules and also include local private schools.

The smARTkids program is a free afterschool program for young students from low-income schools and English learners with emotional or developmental challenges, with a curriculum that builds critical thinking skills, resilience, peer skills, and language and literacy skills in a highly supported setting. Since 2009, smARTkids has benefitted over 1,200 young students. CREATE works with partners such as Community Bridges, Shepherd’s Table, A Wider Circle, Montgomery County Public Schools, Linkages to Learning, YMCA, and other nonprofits and businesses, and is committed to broad-based, inclusive partnerships that inform programming and decision-making for a diverse community.

The Tamar Hendel Gallery at CREATE hosts art exhibitions, receptions, and artist talks featuring unique artwork from diverse local artists. Exhibitions are held throughout the year and are free to the public. CREATE states that it is committed to serving all members of the community through innovative, inclusive, equitable, and meaningful programs that impact individual lives, families, and communities.

Last updated January 22, 2026.