Fledgling Arts Center Sponsors Festival

The Encino Media Center, created by a partnership of public and private entities, opened its doors to the public with a festival in Encino Park.

The cool sounds of a Latin jazz ensemble and the hot rays of the October sun greeted visitors to the Saturday afternoon celebration, which was part of a countywide arts open house taking place in 25 communities.

The media center began operating in June with animation and 3-D art classes. It is the new home of the San Fernando Valley Arts Council and the latest site of CalArts’ Community Arts Partnership, or CAP.

As part of the Department of Cultural Affairs Arts Partners program, the media center will benefit from support from the city and Sony Pictures.

While only a couple of classes have been offered so far, representatives of both the Arts Council and CAP said they planned to begin more classes at the center in the coming months. Darkroom facilities in the building will be open to the public by the end of this month.

“Today, we’re soliciting feedback. We want to ask people what they would like to see us offer. There are a multitude of possibilities,” said Roslyn Wolin, director of the Arts Council, a volunteer organization that supports arts endeavors in the Valley.

CalArts established CAP in 1990. The program employs graduate students to instruct about 2,000 junior high and high school students a year in a variety of subjects at several locations around the city. The first 10-week animation course at the Encino Media Center was so popular that a waiting list was formed for future classes.

Rachel Evans, 12, of Woodland Hills was lucky enough to get into the first and second 10-week courses.

“I like learning about animation and how everything works. It’s not so complicated,” she said. “I’d like to work for Disney and do stop-motion and computer animation.”

Cal Arts graduate student Sue Weisshaar, who teaches animation at the center, said the students do have a real shot at attaining their ambitions in the field. “The students realize that they can make this a career choice. There’s a need for good animators, and they can take it further than they ever dreamed.

“Animation is not just cartoons. You can do anything you want with it.”

For more information about classes at the Encino Media Center, call (818) 784-7266.