On the Town: Secret Art Show features works by well-known artists, celebrities and students
It only pops up one night a year, but when it does, the Burbank Arts for All Foundation’s Secret Art Show offers Burbankers the opportunity to peruse and own original works of art from a selection of more than 600 paintings, drawings, sketches, photos, and three-dimensional creations.
This year’s fifth annual Secret Art Show, which gave supporters the opportunity to select 4-inch-by-6-inch works of art on a first-come basis for $40 each, and only find out who created the piece after making their selection, was held this past Saturday at Burbank’s ATB Studios.
With more than 300 patrons of the arts making selections — including state Sen. Anthony Portantino, Burbank Mayor Will Rogers, Vice Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy, and Councilwoman Sharon Springer — the artists revealed, by virtue of their signatures on the backs of their works, ranged from both established and emerging local artists, celebrities, entertainment industry designers, filmmakers, animators, members of the Burbank Art Assn., artists from DC Entertainment, the Walt Disney Animation Studio and Nickelodeon as well as students from Burbank schools.
Among the more notable of the artists who provided their works were New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Loren Long, talk-show host and comedian Conan O’Brien, Warner Bros. animation designer Jay Shultz, author and two-time Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Hale from “Veep,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” art director Peter Bennett, and actor and Burbank restaurateur Joe Mantegna.
Always looking to add a new dimension to this unique evening of fundraising, this year’s show, co-chaired by Karen Broderick and Alexandra White Helfrich, included the Artists Salon, a curated space of larger works of art from renowned local artists Ana Bagayan, Menua Chaparyan, Adam Cramer, Frank Dietz, Michael Hirsh, Adonna Khare, Catherine McGann, Andre Nieves, Christina Ramos, David Shannon and Randall Williams.
“Where else can you enjoy an engaging, diverse collection of art created by highly collectible artists, celebrities, or imaginative public school students?” said Trena Pitchford, who serves as the executive director of Burbank Arts for All.
“We are so excited to offer this fun night out and raise important funding to further creativity in the classroom for public school students in Burbank,” she added.
Among the numerous volunteers and Burbank Arts for All Foundation board members who made last week’s event a success were Saundra M. Montijo, Donna Martley, Carrie Paschall Brown, Jamie McGuire Butterworth, Debbie Fischer Wade, Cathy Gayle Stevens, Caroline Solberg, Peggy Flynn, Derrick Kolus, Lucy Platner, Penny Zambrano, mothers and daughters of the National Charity League, and the foundation’s co-chair Jill VanderBorght.
This year’s show — sponsored by Cartoon Network Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Cornerstone Masonry, Alisa Cunningham Properties, mOcean, and Volpei-Gussow Real Estate — will see proceeds benefit the Burbank Arts for All Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure every student in Burbank public schools receives a quality arts education as part of their core curriculum.
Since 2006, Burbank Arts for All Foundation has worked in partnership with Burbank Unified School District to reinstate and grow arts education in the classroom.
For more information about its work and future events, visit BurbankArtsforAll.org.
DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
