Downtown Orlando has a warm, handmade reason to visit the Orange County Regional History Center this season. By Heart and By Hand, the museum’s newest special exhibition, celebrates the artistry, heritage and traditions of Black craft artists across Central Florida, and it is on display through March 28, 2027.
Rooted in traditions passed down through generations, the exhibition explores how contemporary makers draw on ancestral knowledge, family stories and cultural practices to create works that feel both deeply personal and widely resonant. Quilts, textiles and crafted objects carry the memory of the hands that taught, stitched and shaped before them — a living conversation between past and present.
The setting adds its own charm: the History Center fills the beautifully restored 1927 Orange County courthouse at 65 E. Central Boulevard, with four floors exploring 12,000 years of Central Florida history. Families can pair the special exhibition with the museum’s permanent galleries, hands-on history programs and pocket exhibits, making an easy, inspiring day in the heart of downtown.
The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Come for the craft, stay for the stories — every piece here was made, quite literally, by heart and by hand.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
