Venice Family Clinic’s 38TH Annual Art Walk & Auctions: Barbara Kruger Is 2017 Signature Artist

On Sunday, May 21, 2017, Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions (#VFCAWA) celebrates its 38th anniversary community event and fundraiser. It is the largest art walk in Southern California and raises critical health care funds for 24,000 people in need.  While Venice Family Clinic (VFC) started in Venice Beach, this community healthcare system has grown to include street outreach and twelve locations in Inglewood, Culver City, Mar Vista, Santa Monica, and Venice.

This unique art experience supports the Clinic’s mission to provide quality healthcare.  In an unsteady and tumultuous time for healthcare, there is a chance that the Affordable Care Act will be repealed and many people who rely on VFC will lose their health coverage, leaving the organization with a large funding gap. This year’s art auction is more critical than ever, and is generously supported by over 200 artists who have donated amazing works of art.

A major highlight of the 2017 Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions is the celebration of artist Barbara Kruger.  Kruger, a tenured professor at UCLA, has been creating works for decades, which are outspoken commentaries and calls to action on politics, social issues, feminism, consumerism, individual autonomy, desire and power. Kruger selected an ideal work titled “How Can I Be a Better Person,” which will be available on limited edition wares to benefit the clinic.

Legendary conceptual artist John Baldessari, who has been an active supporter of the VFCAWA since the early 1980’s, has created a new, limited edition benefit print.

Free and open to the public, 6,000 people will attend the silent art auction and exhibition at Google Los Angeles’ Venice headquarters, which includes live entertainment, food and drinks.

Art collectors will be able to preview the silent auction and bid early at Paddle8.com, with all proceeds benefiting Venice Family Clinic.  The silent art auction includes emerging and renowned contemporary artists such as:  Kelly Akashi, Billy Al Bengston, Gary Baseman, Rosson Crow, Laddie John Dill, Sam Durant, Amir H. Fallah, Alexandra Grant, Jacob Kassay, Kelly Lamb, Dave Muller, Fay Ray, Ana Pravcki, Mick Rock, Ed Ruscha, Analia Saban, and Austyn Weiner.

The funds raised during Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions help ensure people who are low-income, uninsured and may be experiencing homelessness receive comprehensive services including: pediatric and prenatal care, care for teens and adults, dental, vision, behavioral and mental health, women’s health (including breast and cervical cancer screenings), domestic violence intervention, HIV/AIDS prevention, health education, Children First Early Head Start services and more.

Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Noon-6pm

Google Headquarters

340 Main Street, Venice, CA 90291

FREE & open to the public. Includes silent art auction, community celebration, Imagination Station for kids, Barking Lot for dogs, live music & food.

Artist Studio Tours (Venice Art Walk)

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Noon-4:00pm

Meet local artists and get a behind-the-scenes look at their creative process at the Artist Studio Tour.

Tickets: $50

For more information: www.theveniceartwalk.org

Through an expanded calendar of events, the 2017 Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions will also encompass artist studio and architecture tours with meet-the-artist opportunities. For exclusive access to Los Angeles’ internationally renowned art scene, people can become Venice Art Walk Angels. This unique membership group contributes crucial funds to provide healthcare to those in need. Learn more about becoming a Venice Art Walk Angel at venicefamilyclinic.org.

About Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions

Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions was established in 1979 by philanthropist Irma Colen and a group of friends and local artists to create a signature event to raise money for Venice Family Clinic. At that time, many of the artists relied on Venice Family Clinic for their health care needs.  To date, Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions has raised over $10 million in support of Venice Family Clinic. 100% of all Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk & Auctions proceeds support Venice Family Clinic’s mission of providing quality primary health care to people in need.

About Barbara Kruger

For over four decades, Barbara Kruger has merged her deep backgrounds in art and design into a renowned body of work that questions its viewers about feminism, consumerism, individual autonomy, desire and power.  Her instantly recognizable images, immersive room wraps, multi-channel videos, billboards, buses and train station installations have been exhibited in museums and public sites globally. Kruger is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and lives in Los Angeles and New York.

IMAGE CREDITS & CAPTIONS:

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (How Can I Be a Better Person), 2011, © Barbara Kruger.

Kruger’s work will be featured on limited edition 2017 wares benefiting the Venice Family Clinic.

John Baldessari, Hero, 2017,  30” x 22”, 5 color screenprint on archival pigment print. Edition of 65.

Signed, dated and numbered on recto. Image courtesy of John Baldessari and Multi Editions.

About Venice Family Clinic

Venice Family Clinic provides quality primary health care to people in need. With twelve locations in Venice, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Inglewood and Culver City, Venice Family Clinic is the medical home for thousands of low-income and uninsured families in Los Angeles. In 2016, with the support of the Clinic’s donors and over 1,000 volunteers, including 379 physicians, Venice Family Clinic, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, provided quality medical, dental, mental health, vision and specialty care to 24,000 men, women and children. Venice Family Clinic’s doors are open to all, including those who are uninsured, and regardless of their immigration status or ability to pay.

VFC’s most significant affiliation is with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health System and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente of Southern California and Providence Saint John’s Health Center are also key partners, providing residents, vital in-kind services and operating funds. VFC provides training in community primary and specialty care to nearly 300 residents and medical students each year, laying the groundwork for their life-long commitment to community health and the underserved.