From Venice Arts:
On May 19th, from 12:00pm until 2:00pm, Venice Arts Gallery will host the Opening Reception for the 2012 Student Culminating Exhibition, the most exciting and vibrant way to directly experience the impact of Venice Arts’ programs on young people’s lives.
Doritos by Julie Cabral, age 19.
This show, a stunning finale to a year of hard work, will feature the best of student films, photographs, animations, comics, as well as mixed- and multi-media pieces from the 2011-12 workshops. A potluck reception with food and beverages for families, students, mentors, and show attendees will also take place during the exhibition. The Venice Arts Gallery is located at 1702 Lincoln Boulevard in Venice.
Friends by Jeanette Vasquez, age 17.
Each year, over 400 students participate in our Art Mentoring workshops, expanding their creativity and learning about visual storytelling through after-school, weekend, and summer workshops. These workshops are free for low income families and give students a chance to work with talented teaching artists and high-quality professional equipment, jumpstarting their personal artistic exploration.
Discussing the impact that her involvement with Venice Arts’ Art Mentoring Program has had on her development as a young artists, Jeannette Vasquez, a 17-year-old photography student, said “Venice Arts made me feel confident as an artist and gave me the resources to bloom as one, too. I would have never picked up a camera before this place because I wouldn’t have had one to pick up. The energy of the people here is amazing. I always feel like I am at home.”
Takashima House, Reina Brown, age 17.
Students like Jeanette and their artist mentors work remarkably hard on putting together finished final projects and the Venice Arts Gallery is proud to showcase their efforts. The 2012 Student Culminating Exhibition is an exciting opportunity to be a part of the celebration of Venice Arts’ students and the hard work they’ve done this past year. The exhibit also serves to honor our graduating seniors, many of whom have been taking classes with Venice Arts for years and will now be the first in their families to go to college. Reina Brown, age 17, will be attending Santa Monica College this fall and Izzy Rebollar, age 18, will be attending her first choice school, UC Davis.
In addition to photography and other wall-based works, the 2012 Student Culminating Show will also feature screenings of student-made video projects produced for What’s Going On…Now, a national project of The Kennedy Center for which Venice Arts is the Southern California youth partner. In the spirit of Marvin Gaye’s breakout album, What’s Going On, which spoke to the issues of the day–the war in Vietnam, racism, and environmental issues–this project challenges the youth of today to examine and discuss the critical issues of today through their creative art and media projects. During the exhibition, Venice Arts’ Youth Media Crew will screen their visual “tracks” — video responses to Marvin Gaye’s music in light of modern political and social issues. Their work is also featured on the Kennedy Center’s project website and two of our young artists travelled to D.C. this week for a Youth Summit to present their work and attend a concert featuring John Legend, Sharon Jones, and the Dap-Kings.
Venice Arts’ Art Mentoring Program continues this summer with Summer Media Arts Camp. Media Arts Camp is a great way for new students and artist-mentors to get involved with all that Venice Arts has to offer. Designed for both new or beginning students as well as continuing or advanced students, the curriculum is diverse and entertaining. Each week in July, Media Arts Camp explores a different aspect of filmmaking, photography, animation, and comics plus a weekly field trip or field shooting experience. On Venice Arts’ website, a full listing of each week’s special activities is outlined. Youth ages 10-18 may pre-enroll for any week that sparks their interest or for all four weeks. In-person registration is required and will be held on June 16th and 23rd at Venice Arts Gallery. Please call 310.578.1745 for an appointment. Camp is free to low-income families and available to non low-income families at a fee.
About Venice Arts
Venice Arts runs education and mentoring programs in documentary photography, filmmaking, and multimedia primarily targeting Los Angeles area low-income youth. Venice Arts also implements regional, statewide, and international projects with both adults and children; runs the Institute for Photographic Empowerment, a collaboration with the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; presents exhibitions, public programs, and workshops for adults centered around documentary photography and film at the Venice Arts Gallery; and consults on media arts, visual storytelling, and arts education with organizations and groups locally and internationally.
Learn more about Venice Arts at www.venicearts.org.
