Dear Art Lover,

The Legendary Women Artists of Venice Award was established in 2018 in honor of Women’s History Month. The award recognizes the contribution of women to the arts and their profound impact on society. The award is presented by the Venice Art Crawl and the Venice Chamber of Commerce.

The Award is presented to female artists whose life and work exemplify the Venice Art Crawl’s mission of creating community through art, education, and social activism. The award acknowledges a lifetime of achievement for its recipients and a sisterhood in the arts. Awardees highlight the benefits of unique expression, collaborative initiatives, and creative workspaces. These amazing women uphold the legacy of feminist art history and theory across multiple art disciplines and meet the rigorous criteria of considerable accomplishment, achievement, and contribution to the Arts and Venice Beach community – with over 10+ years experience represented by their professional efforts, work, vision, and commitment.

People in the art world want to think we are achieving equity and inclusion more quickly than we are–Women face institutional obstacles with only 14% of living artists represented in galleries nationwide. Women are dramatically undervalued – between 2008 and 2019, more than $197 billion was spent on art at auction. Of that, work made by women accounted for just $4 billion–around 2 percent. Women earn 75% of bachelor of fine arts and master of fine arts degrees in the states, and yet only 46% of working artists are women.

● 74¢ to the $1 – amount made by women visual artists, despite making up nearly half the population of visual artists in the U.S.

● Of the 3,050 galleries in the Artsy database, 10% represent not a single woman artist, while only 8% represent more women than men. Almost half represent 25% or fewer women.

● Data analysis shows that of 18 major U.S. art museums found their collections were 87% male and 85% white.

● At the Art Basel Fairs (Basel, Miami & Hong Kong) women made up less than ¼ of artists on view in the past four years

It’s time to listen – to everyone’s experiences of our shared world, through their art.

The 2023 Legendary Women Artists of Venice Awards will be:

Thursday, March 16, 2023 7:30 -10:30 PM

The Gall3ry
1324 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice

Register below through Eventbrite.  

• Legendary Woman Artist: Catherine Hardwicke
• Legendary Woman Artist: Sandy Bleifer
• Legendary Woman Artist: Edizen Stowell
• Emerging Artist: Accepting Nominations!

• Judy Baca
• Lucy Walker
• Jules Muck
• Joelle Dumas
• Jean Edelstein
• Meryl Leibowitz
• Starfighter

2018 Legendary Woman Artist of Venice Awardee Emily Winters co-founded the Venice Arts Council and marked history as the first woman to be hired in the 60’s as a billboard painter by Gannett, a billboard company. Emily’s mural ‘Endangered Species’ was restored by fellow Awardee Judy Baca, Founder and Artistic Director of SPARC’s Mural Rescue team. Since the 1970’s, SPARC has been a catalyst for social change through the arts and a home for artistic innovation. Lucy Walker, Emmy Award Winner and Academy Awards Nominee is best known for her revolutionary vision and devotion to film. She organized Wild Thoughts #TEDxVeniceBeach with speakers Agnes Varda, Moby, and Diane von Furstenberg. Joelle Dumas, Founder of Ecole Claire Fontaine, focuses on the next generation of artists at her 32 year old Multilingual, Art, and Nature school for children ages 2-7. She works for the benefit of children with the Children’s Committee of the Venice Neighborhood Council and as Co-Founder of the Venice Chamber of Commerce Education Committee. Awardees Jules Muck and Christina Angelina’s dedication to mural artistry in Venice have touched and changed countless people in our community with their notorious, instantly recognizable murals – providing ‘Instagrammable’ moments for tourists and Venice locals, alike. Jean Edelstein is known for her dedication to painting, dance, music, and theatre with over sixty years of Leadership in innovative performance and compassionate political commentaries. Last but not least, Awardee Meryl Lebowitz documented Venice still-lifes and landscapes for more than 20 years–Her work can be seen in collections worldwide.

• MB Boissonault
• Ruth Chase
• Robin Murez

The 2020 Legendary Women Artists of Venice Awardees were Robin Murez, Ruth Chase, and MB Boissonnault. Murez is a long-time resident of Venice and is passionate about public art. She is currently hand-carving a 20’ Carousel to be installed at the Abbot Kinney Memorial Library. Chase is a multimedia artist whose work speaks to the value of people to their community—working with themes of belonging, visibility, and what it means to be a human. Her West of Lincoln Project, documents life growing up in Venice, CA and the powerful insights that come from street smarts in a multimedia installation of paintings, audio, video, social media engagement exhibited at Venice Arts in 2017. Boissonnault studied abroad but landed in The States and has been living in Venice for nearly 20 years. She has shown extensively at the Cadillac Hotel, Beyond Baroque, The Pacific Design Center, and for VICA.

• Isabel Lago
• Megan Raney Aarons
• Misty Srichandr (Rising Star)

2022 Legendary Woman Artist of Venice Isabelle Lago is a renowned painter, muralist and animation designer. A fine art graduate from USC, Isabelle found her groove in the grassroots art crawl scene and exhibitions of Venice Beach, which is where her iconic Isabelle Gorilla character first emerged in 2011. Today, her murals can be found on city streets, at tech start-ups, and private homes in Los Angeles and beyond, and her paintings and prints have been purchased by thousands of collectors around the world. Isabelle is also a founding partner of Nomad Blvd., an NFT project based on her work that sold out in one hourMegan Raney Aarons is a writer/director/producer who mashes true-life realism with a dark and magical whimsy, with plot twisting her narrative trademark. She moved to Venice in 2003 and opened up production company GRAiNEY PICTURES out of her garage on Milwood & Electric, with her big brother & filmmaking partner in crime Colin Gray. Their 7th feature documentary, Unzipped; An Autopsy on American Inequality, which looks at the housing crisis through the lens of the arts & Venice Beach. Legendary Women Artists of Venice Rising Star Misty Shichandr is a two-time “My Venice Holiday Poster” contest winner and attends Coeur d’Alene Elementary school.

• Admission,
• Complimentary drinks and passed hor d’oeuvres
• Entertainment

• Admission
• complimentary drinks and passed hor d’oeuvres,
• entertainment
• 3 Raffle Tickets
• One ticket to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• VAC Swag Bag

Art Lover sponsorship includes:  

• One VIP ticket
• One Ticket to Opening Cocktail Reception@ Art Unified
• 3 Raffle Tickets
• VAC Swag Bag
• Logo on Website

Art Supporter sponsorship includes:

• Two VIP tickets to the event
• Two tickets to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• 6 Raffle Tickets
• Two VAC Swag Bags
• Logo on VAC website
• Social media posts on the Venice Art Crawl’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Art Benefactor sponsorship includes:

• Four tickets to the event
• Four tickets to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• Four VAC Swag Bags
• Bottle Service at a table reserved for your guests
• Your logo on the VAC maps and Website
• Twelve raffle tickets
• Your logo on the signage at the event
• Four social media posts on the Venice Art Crawl’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Bronze (Ambassador) Sponsorship includes:

• Sponsorship of marketing materials + rentals
• Eight VIP tickets to the event
• Eight tickets to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• Eight VAC Swag Bags
• Bottle Service at a table reserved for your guests
• 24 raffle tickets
• Your logo on the VAC maps and Website
• Your logo on the step and repeat and signage at the event
• Four social media posts on the Venice Art Crawl’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Silver (Venue) Sponsorship includes:

• Sponsorship of the the photographer/videographer for the event + Venue
• Ten VIP tickets to the event
• Ten tickets to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• Ten VAC Swag Bags
• Bottle Service at a table reserved for your guests
• 30 raffle tickets
• Your logo on the VAC maps and Website
• Your logo on the step and repeat and signage at the event
• Six social media posts on the Venice Art Crawl’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Gold (Emerging Artist) Sponsorship includes:

• Sponsor representative will present the Emerging Artist Award + cash reward
• Twelve VIP tickets to the event
• Twelve tickets to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• Twelve VAC Swag Bags
• Bottle Service at a table reserved for your guests
• 36 raffle tickets
• Your logo on the VAC maps and Website
• Your logo on the step and repeat and signage at the event
• Eight social media posts on the Venice Art Crawl’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Platinum (Presenting) Sponsorship includes:

• Sponsor representative will present the Legendary Women Artists Award
• Sponsorship of the Venice Art Crawl’s yearly events + mixers
• Twelve VIP tickets to the event
• Twelve tickets to Opening Cocktail Reception @ Art Unified
• Twelve VAC Swag Bags
• Bottle Service at a VIP table reserved for your guests
• Your logo on the VAC maps and website
• 36 raffle tickets
• Your logo on the step and repeat and signage at the event
• Ten social media posts on the Venice Art Crawl’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter