Venice Art Walk & Auctions to Raise Funds for the Uninsured

VENICE, CA.- With public awareness of America’s health care crisis at an all-time high, the largest free clinic in the country, Venice Family Clinic, announces the line-up for its Venice Art Walk & Auctions event series, May 22 and 23, 2010. The centerpiece is the Venice Art Walk & Auctions itself – which the Los Angeles Times calls “the granddaddy of them all” – featuring more than 50 artists’ studios and special exhibits, as well as a 400-piece silent art auction. It is complemented by three brand-new, separately ticketed Art & Architecture Tours – one exploring Rustic Canyon, another focused on architects’ own homes in Venice and Santa Monica, and a third wending its way through Venice’s famous walk streets and canals. All proceeds benefit Venice Family Clinic’s free health care services for the low-income uninsured, making this the feel-good, and feel-better, event of the year.

Skywave House exterior

Saturday, May 22, 2010
• Art & Architecture Tour: Rustic Canyon: The Sequel: Picking up where last year’s historic walking tour left off, Leo Marmol, FAIA, takes visitors deeper into this architecturally bountiful neighborhood, stopping to tour a fresh collection of homes representing the old and new. 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, $175 per person, includes lunch at the home of architect Melinda Gray, VIP cocktail reception at Marmol Radziner on Friday evening, May 21, and VIP cocktail reception at Dogtown Station Lofts in Venice on Saturday night, May 22.

• Art & Architecture Tour: Architects’ Homes in Venice and Santa Monica: Explore homes that architects and designers built for themselves in this self-guided walking tour along the border of Venice and Santa Monica. Noon – 4:00 pm, $100 per person, includes VIP cocktail reception at Dogtown Station Lofts in Venice on Saturday night, May 22.

• Silent Art Auction Preview: 400 original works by Southern California artists (see Venice Art Walk & Auctions, below). 4:00 – 6:00 pm, free.

Sunday, May 23, 2010
• Art & Architecture Tour: Life and Style on Venice’s Walk Streets and Canals: You can’t get more Venetian this self-guided walking tour of homes on Venice’s charming walk streets and serene canals. 11:00 – 4:00 pm, $100 per person, includes admission to the Sunday, May 23, Venice Art Walk & Auctions.

• Venice Art Walk & Auctions, $50 per person (children under 12 free), includes admission to the following:

• Artists’ Studio Tours (the “art walk” proper): 50+ artists’ studios and special exhibits. 11:30 am – 4:30 pm.

• Silent Art Auction: 400 original works, including paintings, photography, sculptures, ceramics, and cartoons, by Southern California artists. 11:30 am – 5:45 pm.

• Food Faire: featuring L.A.’s best restaurants (admission does not include food; dishes sold individually). 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.

• Artful Living Silent Auction: great deals on upscale home and lifestyle items.11:00 am – 5:45 pm.

• Live Music: on the main stage. Noon – 6:00 pm.

• Raffle Drawing: one lucky person will win an original bronze dog or cat sculpture by acclaimed artist Gwynn Murrill, whose work also adorns the official Venice Art Walk & Auctions 2010 t-shirt, on sale throughout the weekend. 5:45 pm.