For nearly half a century, the Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction has showcased paintings, photographs and sculptures from a mix of emerging and established artists—including familiar figures in the Los Angeles contemporary art scene like Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Fred Eversley and Frank Gehry—to raise money for the low-cost community clinic.
For its 46th edition, the Venice Art Walk will also also turn its attention to L.A.’s post-wildfire landscape: The exhibition, which is viewable (for free) along Abbot Kinney from May 9 through 18, will include sections dedicated to artists who lost their homes or studios in the Palisades and Eaton Fires, as well as a celebration of Altadena’s legacy of Black artists.
Participants include displaced Altadena-based artists Ben Willett, Cecilia Miguez, Kassia Rico and Olivia Hill, as well as Kenturah Davis and Louis LIV, who are featured in the event’s focus on Altadena’s Black history (and whose families both lost their homes). In addition, Gary Palmer, Mike Miller and Trevor Albert are among the exhibiting Pacific Palisades artists who’ve been displaced.
Organizers see this year’s Art Walk + Auction as a gesture of gratitude, a way for impacted artists to speak to the hardship and loss following the fires, and a means for the clinic to spotlight its own healthcare efforts following the disasters (it counts its patients, donors, neighbors and participating artists among those impacted by the fires).
That’s only one portion of the show, though: You’ll also find works from over 175 artists as part of this year’s “Past, Present and Future” theme, which takes a multigenerational approach to the event’s curation, starting with the honorary selection of its signature artists, Lita Albuquerque and her daughter Isabelle Albuquerque.
“We banded together to support our neighbors in Venice and created a one-of-a-kind experience, opening our studios and showing art in this colorful place with its canals and eccentric history,” said Lita, who was among the original group of Light and Space artists that launched the fund-raising event in 1979.
“In a time when basic human rights are at stake, the Clinic continues with their legacy of support to underserved communities, including generations of women and the Clinic’s deep-rooted programs dedicated to women’s health at all stages of life,” added Isabelle.
The auction portion of the event raises money for the community health center, which serves the Westside and South Bay, but for average Angelenos simply looking to scope out some impressive artwork, you can head to 910 Abbot Kinney Boulevard during the bidding period (May 9–18) for a free show of works from Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, Helen Pashgian, Don Suggs, Gajin Fujita, Sayre Gomez, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Adam Silverman and Kenturah Davis, among others. Following the auction, there’ll be an extension of the exhibition through May 25.