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Draft:Mar Vista Art Walk

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The Mar Vista Art Walk was a multi-disciplinary arts festival, launched in 2015 in Mar Vista and Venice, CA.[1]

In its more than five years of operation,  the Mar Vista Art Walk mounted 18 in-person art and music festival events,

Great Streets Initiative

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The Mar Vista Art Walk was created in response to former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Great Streets Initiative”, which was first shared as part of his campaign platform for mayor. The initiative would re-imagine Los Angeles roadways in over 40 neighborhoods as more environmentally and pedestrian-friendly community gathering places.  The Initiative designated one central roadway in each of the fifteen Los Angeles City Council Districts as a neighborhood focal “Great Street.”[2]

The first Mar Vista Art Walk was held in December 2015, when former environmental non-profit, Green Communications Initiative, and local artists came together to encourage community members to stroll their sidewalks and explore their neighborhood's "Great Street" in the west Los Angeles Council District 11: a one-and-a-half mile stretch of Venice Blvd. west of the 405 Freeway.[3]

History

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The mission of the Mar Vista Art Walk was to grow, learn, and improve the strength of the west Los Angeles community of neighbors, artists, galleries, and small businesses by making the community more walkable. The Mar Vista Art Walk was organized by its parent non-profit, former environmental justice arts nonprofit, Green Communications Initiative, founded by Lenore French, and co-founder, artist Mitchelito Orquiola.[4][5]

From 2017 to 2020, the Mar Vista Art Walk was curated by artist Monique Boileau.

Funding of the art walk was made possible by former CD-11 council member, Mike Bonin, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture.[6][7]

Each event was organized around a social justice theme.  For example, when community-member Richard Bernstein lost his grandson, Blaze Bernstein, to a hate crime[8] perpetrated by a member of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen,[9] the September 2019 art walk brought the community together in support of his family.  The theme of that art walk, “SPECTRUM:  CELEBRATING LGBTQ+” honored the life of Blaze who was both gay and Jewish.[10]

In addition to over a mile of sidewalk space converted into art galleries, parking lots and small storefront businesses, five temporary stages were set up at each art walk for live music and performance art, thus supporting hundreds of local artists by providing a free or low-cost marketplace to sell, perform or display their work directly to the community.  

The Get Around

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In the summer of 2019, Mar Vista Art Walk joined forces with Venice Art Crawl to create the largest arts festival in West Los Angeles, stretching across three-and-a-half miles of Venice Boulevard from Venice Beach to the 405 freeway featuring art of all mediums (paintings, visual, 3D) music, dance, photography, poetry, and storytelling.[11]

The Art Walk had seven hubs each on a popular Venice Streets including Lincoln Blvd, Centinela Boulevard, Sawtelle Boulevard, Abbott Kinney, and Pacific Avenue alongside the Venice Beach ocean front.

Participating Venice-based businesses and organizations included Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, SPARC, Safe Place for Youth, Mar Vista Community Center, King Eddy Saloon, Venice High School, Cafe y Cultura, First Lutheran Church, Pacific Resident Theater, and Venice Beachland.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) provided rides for attendees via their LANow shuttle app.

The Pandemic Era

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During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, Mar Vista Art Walk produced three virtual events, including a Halloween special.[12]

The Return of Live Events

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Mar Vista Art Walk rresumed in-person events in September 2021 as single location monthly events featuring local artists and music.[13]

Transformation Arts

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In 2022, the organization permanently retired the Mar Vista Art Walk, when staff and its board of directors voted to rebrand the organization in the wake of the pandemic and the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. 

The organization is renamed TRANSFORMATION ARTS.

References

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  1. ^ Redman, Bridget M. (October 19, 2021). "Live Return". The Argonaut. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Karlamangla, Soumya (June 2, 2014). "L.A. Mayor Garcetti identifies city's 'Great Streets'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  3. ^ Community Council, Mar Vista (May 10, 2016). "MAR VISTA COMMUNITYCOUNCIL Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). MarVista.org. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Campodonico, Christina (May 2, 2018). "Creative Resistance". The Argonaut. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Campodonico, Christina (February 16, 2016). "Mar Vista's Art Ninja". The Argonaut. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Pasco, Sue (February 6, 2020). "Pacific Palisades Art Show and Meeting". Circle the News. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Eckerling, Debra L. (April 10, 2019). "Creating Art for the Streets of L.A." Jewish Journal. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  8. ^ Smith, Tracy (July 17, 2024). "Blaze Bernstein murder: Was an Ivy League student slain in the name of hate?". CBS News. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Winston, Ali (April 7, 2024). "Neo-Nazi to face trial in killing of former high school classmate Blaze Bernstein". The Guardian. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Art Walk, Mar Vista (October 19, 2019). "Spectrum Art Walk". Mar Vista Art Walk. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Staff Writer, Yo Venice (July 13, 2019). "Venice Art Crawl and Mar Vista Music and Art Walk Combine to Produce The Get Around". Yo! Venice. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Leonardo, Kathy (October 31, 2020). "Mar Vista Art Walk". LA Art Party. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Redman, Bridgette (October 19, 2021). "Live Return". The Argonaut. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
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