For more than 40 years, Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auction has been a community tradition in Venice. The annual event combines a silent auction of contemporary art and a community celebration of engaging activities for the public, including hands-on art workshops, live music, a craft beer and wine garden, live music, food trucks, and a family fun zone.
In 2020, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we postponed the community celebration and held the silent auction exclusively online.
Thanks to our artists and our supporters, our online art auction nearly sold out, and this year’s event raised more than $700,000 in critical funds. Since its inception, this signature fundraiser has raised more than $23 million to provide vital health care to people who might otherwise have nowhere to get the help they need to get well and stay healthy.
The auction featured more than 190 works by nationally recognized contemporary artists, including John Baldessari, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Corinne Chaix, Zoe Crosher, Danny First, FriendsWithYou, Channing Hansen, Lynn Hanson, Kenny Harris, Claudy Jongstra, Toba Khedoori, Jens Lucking, T. Kelly Mason, Ed Ruscha, Analia Saban, Kim Schoenstadt, and The Haas Brothers. Click here to view all of our participating artists.
Sign up below and join our Venice Art Walk mailing list to make sure you don’t miss our next art event!
On May 6, art writer Jori Finkel and artist Kim Schoenstadt had a joyful conversation about some of their favorite works in this year’s online auction. Click above to check out the recording and see some of their picks.
Featured Image: Jona Frank, Cherry Hill Pie, 2019
Discover art advisor Jacquie Israel’s favorite selections from the online auction and learn more about the works through interviews with the artists who made them. Jacquie was joined by artists The Art of Chase and Jens Lucking.
Featured Image: The Art of Chase, Commissioned Mural
Tessa Blumenberg of Gagosian and art writer and educator Jonathan TD Neil led a conversation about collecting from the heart and highlighted their top auction picks.
Featured Image: Zoe Crosher, The LAX Marietta’s Inn, from the series Out The Window (LAX), 2003
Michael Hulett and David Jones of Peter Fetterman Gallery shared everything you’ve always wanted to know about collecting fine art photography and their picks from the online auction.
Featured Image: Don Hunstein, Billie Holiday, 1957
“Art is a sign of a healthy community,” said studio tour artist Stanley Bishop. “Art is one of the higher callings and one that people get to focus on when their basic needs are taken care of. You see a lot of joyful art when people are healthy, physically and mentally.”
Artsy speaks with Tessa Blumenberg, events & PR manager for Gagosian and member of Venice Art Walk’s curatorial committee, regarding her personal experience with the organization, the profound impact of this auction on the arts community, auction highlights, and more.
This year, the annual Venice Family Clinic Art Walk and Auction goes digital. Since it began in 1979, the auction has raised more than $23 million for the Venice Family Clinic, which provides essential health care and mental health support for 28,000 people across Los Angeles. The clinic is supporting people who are vulnerable to COVID-19, many of whom live below the poverty line.
Featured Image: Lauren Marsolier, Black Square, 2011
Through May 19, art lovers can bid on works by the likes of master text artist Ed Ruscha, Incubus vocalist Brandon Boyd and celebrity photographer Sid Avery to benefit the community health care center, which serves 28,000 low-income, uninsured and homeless individuals across Los Angeles and celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Featured Image: Renee Petropoulous, Bouquet – For Clarise (Lispector), 2020
Painter Andy Moses and his wife, sculptural painter Kelly Berg, have been long-time supporters of the Venice Art Walk. They are two of the 188 artists participating in this year’s online auction. Their works include Geodynamics 129 (2019) and Rupture 4 (2018), respectively.
Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auction has become an iconic event that year after year brings together a community that cares about art and the Clinic’s mission. For their work in its founding, the #VeniceArtWalk founders have earned a place on #VeniceFamilyClinic’s Visionaries list. Read more about the volunteers who founded this event, below!
Discover, bid and collect significant pieces from leading and emerging contemporary artists. From May 3 – May 19, visit artsy.net/veniceartwalk to view the online collection and place your bids. Each winning bid provides vital health care services to our community.
“Four decades ago, I recognized the vital work Venice Family Clinic provided for our community. Along with a team of dedicated volunteers, we recruited artist friends in Venice and we established Venice Art Walk to ensure that the artists and their neighbors received vitally-needed health care. I’m proud to continue to support the Clinic today when their services are as essential as ever.”
-Frank Gehry
Venice Family Clinic’s signature fundraising event, Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auction, will be an exclusively online auction this year to avoid any potential health risks associated with being at large public gatherings at this time. The community celebration, which includes tours of local artists’ studios as well as live music, a beer and wine garden, and a family fun zone, will be postponed.
Learn more
Join our membership program and be part of a community of supporters who believe that together we can help people in need to live healthy and happy lives.
Members have exclusive opportunities to engage with Clinic leaders and other like-minded supporters at events where we explore topics on art, culture, philanthropy, health, and social justice.
Learn About Membership