New director of Creative Arts Center wants to spread the word about its gallery
The new director of the Creative Arts Center - Burbank plans to put the local gallery on the map with art enthusiasts and buyers.
“I don’t think we’re known about enough,” said Virginia Causton-Keene, who was hired May 1. “I want to reach out to artists and buyers in Pasadena and try to get more people to visit us. Not many people know we have an amazing gallery.”
Causton-Keene has been involved in art in one form or another since she was a little girl. She worked as a high school photographer for White Studios Inc. in North Hollywood for 17 years.
In the evenings, she took all of the ceramic classes offered at Glendale Community College and began volunteering in the department.
In 1997, she served as an art director for the Connecticut-based publishing company Grolier, mainly working with three-dimensional art after leaving her home in England. Prior to moving, she worked as a sculptor and graphic designer in her home country.
“It’s odd the journey I’ve taken and where I’ve ended up, so far, but it’s proven to be amazing,” Causton-Keene said.
Coming from a family of artists, Causton-Keene said she hopes she will inspire others to enjoy and appreciate art as much as she does. She still recalls purchasing the “first real art” piece she fell in love with when she lived in England.
It was an oil painting of a landscape in France, which she still has hung in her home today, she said.
Causton-Keene’s long-term goal is to draw out-of-towners to visit the center over the next five years. She also plans to contact local schools to schedule field trips to the center and intends to feature more three-dimensional artwork, such as ceramic pieces.
“We have an amazing space with incredible light and architecture,” she said.
The Creative Arts Center - Burbank has a pottery studio, classrooms and an art gallery. Classes are offered for adults and children interested in visual and performing arts.
The center is located at 1100 W. Clark Ave. in George Izay Park. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/1B5YEWw.
Twitter: @vegapriscella
