Businesses to benefit from raffle
VENICE If you’ve ever wanted to own a nice piece of art, but sticker shock brushed you away, this could be your chance.
For only $10, you can purchase a raffle ticket from the Venice Community Trust, and if luck is on your side, you could go home with artwork valued at more than $15,000.
The raffle, to be held Dec. 1 at Ravenswork Studios in Venice, is part of a fundraising effort to enhance public art and encourage youth to consider careers in creative fields.
“Right now, we have around $70,000 worth of art that has been donated and we are hoping to sell around $30,000 to $40,000 worth of tickets,” said Aldis Browne, co-founder of the Trust, which is selling raffle tickets on its Web site (www.venicetrust.com). “Where else can you get a great work of art for only 10 bucks?”
The Trust has a mission of building an archive of history and art, both indoor and out, to be documented and shared with museums and universities throughout Los Angeles.
The Trust reaches out to donors and corporations to encourage giving and underwriting in order that works can be installed in public spaces. The Trust also enables donors to make gifts of everything from paintings to manuscripts to public institutions throughout Los Angeles on the condition that they may he made available for study and to appropriate public exhibitions.
The raffle features works from more than 40 local artists, including Ed Moses, Peter Alexander, Ed Ruscha and Robert Graham. The art will be on exhibit each weekday from Nov. 5 to Nov. 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Ravenswork.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit 1st Fridays, which is a collaboration between the Venice Chamber of Commerce, Venice Neighborhood Council and the merchants of Abbot Kinney Boulevard, who are working to promote local commerce while helping the less fortunate in the Venice community.
The raffle will take place along with a screening of a new film called “Cool School,” which tells the story of the legendary Ferus Gallery, which helped spark the art movement in Los Angeles during the 1950s. There will also be live musical performances inspired by that era.
Mark Farina, an artist and instructor at Otis College of Art and Design, has donated one his works, a silk-screen print called “Death B 4 Disco,” which features a red disco ball and a white skull before a pinkish-red backdrop.
“I think it’s really a great opportunity for someone who is not your average collector and can’t afford high prices for art to get a good piece at a low price,” Farina said. “I’m encouraging people to buy tickets. I’m going to buy some tickets myself.”
The Trust plans to use the raffle proceeds to produce a series of videos about the arts world that they hope to show in schools across Los Angeles County to encourage kids to not only become artists, but to also consider careers as directors, actors, grips, location scouts, agents and other fields that are not traditionally considered.
Farina, who was influenced by his older brother, said he believes there needs to be more opportunities for students to get involved in the art world. He has taught after school programs at the Brentwood Art Center and believes more children should have opportunities to participate.
“I never had opportunities like that growing up,” Farina said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 15, 2007. Read the original PDF.