BURLINGTON, MA-- Dr. Java Joshi's Creative Arts Studio is scheduled to open this weekend in Burlington, MA. The founders of the studio also plan to announce the opening of the Academy of Creative Arts.
The husband and wife team of Dr. Java Joshi and Hetal Joshi, the founders of the Academy of Creative Arts, said the Academy of Creative Arts will serve as a school of arts, where various different forms of creative and performing arts will be taught under one roof.
The inaugural launch of both "Java Joshi Art Studio" and "Academy of Creative Arts" is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm at 128 Wheeler Road in Burlington. Parents, students and visitors are welcome to stop by during the inaugural launch to see instructors, students work and learn more about Academy and its offerings.
"Necessity is the mother of invention. Having an 8-year old boy and a 5-year old girl, we were looking for creative art schools/training institutions around the area and found that they are few and far between," Hetal Joshi. "As parents, you have to run all around, over the weekend just to provide right kind of exposure to the kids. We know many other parents who also face the same challenge. Java is already teaching drawing and painting to many kids in the area and has heard this from many parents."
Dr. Joshi, who was also nominated for Women of the Year in 2013 for her contribution in promotion of Art, is co-founder of Academy of Creative Arts. She has exhibited her work at many national and international art shows. Joshi, who holds a PhD in Drawing and Painting from India and Masters in Multimedia & Web Design from Art Institute of Atlanta, is also a very active member of Lexington Art community and serves on the core committee for Lexington Open Studios. She resides in Lexington and about 3 years ago, she formed Java Joshi Creative Arts, with a mission to share her passion of the art through teaching. She teaches students from the ages of 3 to 18 years in Lexington and at her studio in Burlington.
"Honestly, we wanted to make our life easy to get our kids art education under one roof and figured other parents would also want the same and appreciate that," she said. "That's when we asked ourselves, why wait for someone to do this, why not start something like this ourselves? This led to the creation of Academy of Creative Arts, an institution where parents, students and teachers can get access to various forms of creative and performing arts in one place."
Joshi said that their idea is not to compete with anyone who is already providing training in the field of art, dance, theatre, design etc. but rather create a platform where all these converge into one place.
"In fact, we wish to provide an opportunity for other teachers and artists to come and offer their services through our academy, provide their expertise and share their passion with our students under the banner of Academy of Creative Arts without compromising the quality of education as that is prime for us," she added.
The initial launch will start with three departments. Drawing and Painting (drawing and painting for kids and observational drawing for adults),Jewelry Design and Dance-Kathak. With more creative art activities and offerings to start soon, parents and students will have the ability to choose and learn any or all forms of creative and performing arts in one place.
The founders said that they wish to make this a destination for parents, students and teachers to come together under roof to learn and share their passion. The mission of the Academy of Creative Arts is to provide an atmosphere where creativity is encouraged and fostered and developing love for the art that will continue to grow forever.
"We have immense talent in the Boston area, whether it's drawing and painting, various forms of dance, creative writing or theatre and acting. Boston area is blessed with so many talented and creative artists," said Joshi. "We wish our kids can learn from them and are sure there are other parents like us who want their kids to get the same kind of exposure that helps in development of overall personality of our next generation."
The founders currently have four instructors:
Mona Mitra will teach Kathak Dance. Mitra is a classically trained dancer, with a "Visharad" in Kathak. She started learning Kathak at the age of four. She has trained under Pandit Chunilal Goswami and Dr. Amita Dutt, who is a senior disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj and the Dean of Fine Arts at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata. Mitra has been teaching dance for the last 12 years. In the Boston area, she has been teaching Kathak and Bollywood Fusion since 2010. Prior to that, she taught in Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon) and in India.
Irit Kaphzan Hamami will teach Jewelry Design. Hamami came to the United States 15 years ago and taught Jewish studies. She had interest in Jewelry design from childhood and started following her passion about 8 years ago. She started experimenting with different techniques making stunning pieces of jewelry for friends and family. She started getting overwhelmed and got so many positive reviews. Five years ago, she opened her work to public through the Lexington and Concord open studios.
Judith Ann Cooper, who currently teaches art at Harvard University, will teach Observational Drawing for Adults. Although trained as a painter, the joy Cooper receives from "creating" has led her to utilize many different materials: fibers and textiles, clay, graphite and pastels, and mixed media with found objects. Her art has been exhibited in studio tours and galleries, and is in corporate and private collections. After earning a BFA from Boston University, with a major in painting and a minor in education, she taught art in the Gloucester Public Schools for 28 years. There her primary focus was on high school courses in ceramics, drawing, and portfolio preparation for those applying to art school.
"We expect to add more outstanding instructors and services in the near future," Joshi said.
The Academy's co-founder, Hetal Joshi, who has a background in business and marketing management, came to the United States for his Masters in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University. He started his career in consulting with Deloitte and has been doing strategy consulting for about 15 years. After Deloitte, he was involved with a couple of start-up ventures and now heads the CRM strategy business for Cognizant North America and APAC regions. In addition, he holds a Diploma in Performing Arts (Dramatics) from MS University, India. He also has been involved in theatre from his childhood days. He has acted in over 40-50 plays and has also written and directed many kids and comedy plays, skits, mimes etc. Hetal also won national level awards for his acting.
Both Hetal and Java are actively involved in theatre activities with Hindi Manch as well. They both have participated in many Hindi Manch plays. Last year, they also wrote and directed a kids play for Bal Manch.
For more information, visit: www.academyofcreativearts.com.