Saint Mary's County Arts Council wins $450,000 state grant to create makerspace at Carver facility

At the Recreation and Parks Citizens Advisory Board meeting in September, the Saint Mary's County Arts Council presented partnership plans including a capital grant award to create a community makerspace inside the county-owned Carver facility and described ongoing public-art collaborations across county parks.

The Arts Council said it won a $450,000 capital arts grant from the Maryland State Arts Council to renovate the east wing of the Carver facility and expects to open the makerspace in early 2026, pending final contract processing by the state's commerce department. "Through a capital art grant that we were able to win from the Maryland State Arts Council for $450,000, we'll be embarking upon renovations to the east wing of that school facility… and we hope to have that open in 2026," said Susie Glowner, executive director of the Saint Mary's County Arts Council.

Why it matters: the makerspace is intended to expand local arts education, provide workspace and equipment (including ceramics, woodshop, metalworking and expanded sewing), and create instructor-led classes for children, teens and adults. The Arts Council said it will partner with Rec and Parks on registration and use the department's registration and payment platform for classes.

Partnerships and programming Julia Nichols, the Arts Council board president, said the council redistributes state, local and private funds to support arts programs and that the council receives a block grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. "Saint Mary's County Arts Council is an independent nonprofit organization and our primary purpose is to redistribute, state, local and private funds to create arts programs in Saint Mary's County," Nichols said. Susie Glowner added that the council currently receives an annual state block grant of about $200,000 and that its grant-making, public-art stewardship and program partnerships include Rec and Parks among other grantees.

The planned makerspace will build on an existing partnership with PacSpace (a local makerspace co-op) and will add a full ceramics studio, expanded woodshop, paint booth, fiber arts and jewelry-making stations, plus classroom space for instruction. The Arts Council said PacSpace's membership model will inform operations and that Rec and Parks will handle public registration and collect fees to cover overhead. "Once those fees come in for classes, you know, the rec and parks will take only what they need to cover their overhead and administration," Glowner said.

Public art and local projects The Arts Council also described recent and planned public art work with Rec and Parks, including sensory-path murals created by high school students, painted benches in multiple parks, and a multi-year stewardship plan for Lexington Manor Passapark developed with community input. The council said it administers public-art placements countywide and operates a gallery in Leonardtown's Arts and Entertainment District.

What wasn't decided No formal contracts or grant agreement details were voted on at the meeting; the Arts Council said the commerce department must complete state contract processing before work begins. Specific operating fees, staffing plans for the makerspace and detailed equipment lists will be developed with partners and presented later.

Next steps The Arts Council and Recreation and Parks said they will continue planning and outreach and will present further details on timeline, programming and registration as state contract and local implementation steps are completed.