April 3, 2023
Beginning April 18, Hundreds of Artworks will be Featured in an Exhibition and Online Auction to Support the Nonprofit Community Health Center
LOS ANGELES – (April 3, 2023) – Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction will move to a new location at RUNWAY Playa Vista from April 18 to May 19 to celebrate its 44th year of exhibiting and auctioning hundreds of donated artworks to support the nonprofit community health center.
Artists, gallerists and collectors come together to help Venice Family Clinic advance health equity through the sale of artwork during the storied event. Proceeds from art sales help fund the Clinic’s innovative and integrated approach to providing comprehensive health care services to more than 45,000 people from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay.
The month-long exhibition will open April 18 and feature works from established, mid-career and emerging artists in a 7,000-square-foot gallery space at RUNWAY Playa Vista, which is located at 12746 W. Jefferson Blvd., Number3170, Playa Vista, CA. The exhibition is free and open to the public. It will conclude May 19. Hours of operation and more information are available at venicefamilyclinic.org/veniceartwalk.
The online auction will begin at noon PDT on April 18 and close at 7 p.m. PDT on May 4. The public may view and bid on the works online at Artsy.net/veniceartwalk.
“Our new location provides an opportunity to engage new and existing Venice Family Clinic supporters in the vibrant and growing Playa Vista community, located at the intersection of our historic Westside sites and our recently merged clinics in the South Bay,” said John Geresi, Chair of the auction Curatorial Committee and former Venice Family Clinic Board Chair. “This is the Clinic’s most visible fundraiser and the support it generates is vital to maintaining the Clinic’s leadership position in providing comprehensive care to people in need, regardless of their income, their access to insurance or their immigration status.”
Charles Gaines will be honored as the event’s Signature Artist for his contributions as an educator, philanthropist-activist and pivotal figure in the history of conceptual art. Gaines recently retired from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) after serving on the faculty for over 30 years, having established a fellowship to provide critical scholarship support for Black students in the Master of Fine Arts program.
“Centuries of racism have caused significant disparities in health outcomes among Black and Brown people. If we are going to heal – as individuals, as communities and as a country – we must confront this truth with compassion and action,” he said. “I’m proud to join Venice Family Clinic staff, donors, volunteers, artists and activists who work tirelessly to dismantle health inequities and provide health care for all.”
Charles Gaines joins artists John Baldessari, Billy Al Bengston, Tyler Christopher Brown, Pui Tiffany Chow, Mark di Suvero, Laddie John Dill, Kim Dorland, Rema Ghulom, Ruthanna Hopper, Saj Issa, Nathan Mabry, Max Maslansky, Ed Moses, Ramona Otto, Alicia Piller, Hannah Lupton Reinhard Ed Ruscha, Edgar Ramirez, Richard Serra, Cole Sternberg, Jennifer Sullivan, Joey Wolf, Wen Long Ye and many more in donating to this historic benefit auction.
Visit venicefamilyclinic.org/veniceartwalk for more information about the event and the artists.
About Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction
In 1979, Venice Family Clinic was on the verge of closing its doors when a group of Clinic supporters gathered with local artists to organize the first-ever Art Walk + Auction to ensure the community continued to receive vital medical services. Frank Gehry played an integral role in bringing the event to life by appealing to the artists living and working in Venice’s thriving art scene. Artists such as Lita Albuquerque, John Baldessari, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Laddie John Dill, Ed Moses and Ed Ruscha donated artwork to the auction and opened their studios to the public. These compassionate and generous individuals continue to inspire new generations of artists like Danie Cansino, Glenn Hardy Jr., Patrick Martinez and Shizu Saldamando to donate artwork. Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction has raised more than $23 million cumulatively to support the Clinic’s mission.
About Venice Family Clinic
Venice Family Clinic is a nonprofit community health center that is a leader in providing comprehensive, high-quality primary health care to more than 45,000 people in need annually, regardless of their income, insurance or immigration status. The Clinic merged with South Bay Family Health Care in late 2021 and serves an area from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay in Los Angeles County. It has 17 sites located in Venice, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Inglewood, Culver City, Redondo Beach, Carson, Gardena and Hawthorne, plus two mobile clinics and an expansive street medicine program for people experiencing homelessness. The Clinic’s comprehensive care also includes mental health services, dental care, vision services, substance use treatment, prescription medications, domestic violence counseling, HIV services, healthy food distributions, health education, health insurance enrollment, child development services and more. For more information, please visit VeniceFamilyClinic.org and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.