Event will take place on Thursday, March 16 from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. at the Gall3ry, 1324 Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice
The Venice Art Crawl (VAC) is pleased to announce that the 2023 Legendary Women Artists of Venice Award will be presented to film director Catherine Hardwicke, fine artist Sandy Bleifer and photographer Edizen Stowell. The event will take place on Thursday, March 16 from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. at the Gall3ry, 1324 Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, featuring special guest artists Nicole Buffet and Julie Pacino will be special guests for the evening.
Hardwicke’s first film as a director was the critically acclaimed coming-of-age “Thirteen”, which won numerous awards including the Director’s Award at Sundance, Golden Globe nominations for Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood and an Academy Award nomination for Holly Hunter. Hardwicke has since become best known as the director of “Twilight”, which launched the blockbuster franchise and earned nearly $400 million at the global box office.
Hardwicke’s other credits include “Lords of Dogtown”, “Miss You Already”, “Red Riding Hood” and “Miss Bala”.
For television, she has directed episodes of “This Is Us,” “Eye Witness,” “Low Winter Sun,” “Hell on Wheels” and the 14-part Quibi series “Don’t Look Deeper.” She previously worked as a production designer on films directed by Richard Linklater, David O. Russell, Cameron Crowe and Lisa Cholodenko. She holds an Architecture degree from UT Austin and did graduate work in animation at UCLA Film School.
Hardwicke’s latest work includes the gritty family drama “Prisoner’s Daughter” starring Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox, filmed on the back streets of Las Vegas. The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival.
Sandy Bleifer is a Venice-based artist who received her B.A. in Fine Arts at UCLA and has worked as an Artist-in-Residence for the Beverly Hills Schools and Central High, a continuation high school in downtown LA.he works in her own hand-made paper and has exhibited and sold her work at many galleries and museums including the Downey Museum of Art, University of California, Berkeley, Loyola Marymount University, Mt. St. Mary’s College, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, Riverside Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Albuquerque Museum of Art and the Kitakamakura Museum, Japan.
For the past 5 years, she has sought support for her vision of a neighborhood arts “colony” that would include affordable live/work space for Venice’s dwindling artist community.
For the past two decades, Edizen Stowell has been documenting life in Venice, California. This photographer’s journey started on the boardwalk in 2003 selling artistic prints and photo keychains. Edizen developed her skills and knowledge by constantly capturing and editing, always asking herself how she could improve her craft. She used her B.A. in marketing to build a business as a professional event photographer and has shot all over the US and internationally, covering over 1600 events. Her client list includes AEG, Wellpoint Anthem, Sony, TriMega and The Ski Channel, to name a few.
Indicative of her commitment to the Venice community, in 2010 Edizen co-founded the Venice Art Crawl along with Danny Samakow and Mike Newhouse. Edizen’s involvement is well known and in 2016, she was honored with the Venice Spirit Award. Her creation, the Venice Paparazzi website, is a historical archive that serves as an interactive photo album for the fine folks of Venice and the Westside. It is a living, growing art piece that tells the story of our lives. As well as housing hundreds of thousands of images, it is home to a robust series of interviews, called “In The Spotlight,” which details the journeys of individual Venetians, their organizations, businesses, teams and more.
The semi-annual Legendary Women Artists Of Venice Award was established in honor of Women’s History Month by the Venice Art Crawl, Sunny Bak and Lauren Doyle. The Award recognizes the contribution of Women to the Arts and their profound impact on society. First presented in 2018 at the Hotel Erwin by Councilmember Mike Bonin and George Francisco, then President of the Venice Chamber of Commerce, the awards acknowledge Venice’s rich history with the arts and the female artists whose life and work exemplify the Venice Art Crawl’s mission of creating community through art, education and social activism. Venice Beach is a renowned arts community; a haven for many famous artists, musicians, actors and writers. Much of its historical identity centers around the arts – with homes to vibrant murals, museums, galleries, studios and art resource centers.
Previous winners of the Award include Emily Winters, Judy Baca, Joelle Dumas, Jules Muck, Meryl Lebowitz, Jean Edelstein, Christina Angelina, Robin Murez, MB Boissonnault and last year’s awardees, Megan Raney Aarons and Isabelle Lago.
To purchase tickets for the event visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-legendary-women-artists-of-venice-awards-year-of-strength-tickets-532370984947?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
