VENICE, Calif. – April 24, 2019 – On Sunday, May 19, Venice Family Clinic will commemorate the 40th edition of its annual Venice Art Walk & Auction in support of the Clinic’s mission to provide quality health care for people in need. Taking place at Google Los Angeles from noon to 6 p.m., this year’s Venice Art Walk will highlight the works of more than 200 artists in a contemporary silent art auction, and will offer fun for all ages, including studio tours, live music, a beer and wine garden, food trucks, hands-on art workshops, a family fun zone and more. Contemporary artist, Laura Owens, is being celebrated as the 2019 Signature Artist and will be featured in the silent art auction along with significant pieces from other artists including Kelly Akashi, Charles Arnoldi, John Baldessari, Gary Baseman, Billy Al Bengston, Andrea Bowers, Matthew Brandt, Rosson Crow, Guy Dill, Laddie John Dill, Sam Durant, Timo Fahler, Shepard Fairey, Amir H. Fallah, Kim Fisher, Sam Francis, FriendsWithYou, Piero Golia, Ramiro Gomez, Alexandra Grant, DJ Hall, KAWS, Toba Khedoori, Edward Kienholz, Kelly Lamb, Dash Manley, Mike Miller x RETNA, Jennifer Moon, Andy Moses, Laura Owens, Raymond Pettibon, Vanessa Prager, Fay Ray, Robert Rauschenberg, Ry Rocklen, Ed Ruscha, Alison Saar, Analia Saban, Gregory Siff, The Haas Brothers, Austyn Weiner, and many more.

When it opened in 1970 in a borrowed space, Venice Family Clinic was the only place on the Westside where low-income residents, many of whom were artists, could get the medical care they desperately needed but could not afford. In 1979 a group of Clinic supporters gathered with local artists to host an Art Walk to both honor the community in which the Clinic operated and help bring in additional funding to support the Clinic’s vital services. Since its inception, the Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auction has raised over $20 million to help the Clinic provide care for those who need it most, regardless of their income, insurance or immigration status.

"For 40 years, the Venice Family Clinic Art Walk & Auction has been so much more than just a fundraising effort,” explains Elizabeth Benson Forer, CEO of Venice Family Clinic. “The Art Walk is an event for the community as well as its artists, many of whom have been contributing artwork to help support the Clinic since the beginning. It is the longstanding support from the community that makes it possible for us to provide quality health care to people who might otherwise have nowhere else to turn.”

The auction goes live on Paddle8 on May 1 and will feature significant pieces from emerging, mid-career and established artists. Bidding culminates at the gallery showing on May 19. Proceeds from the sale of each auction item directly benefit the Clinic's mission to provide quality primary health care for people in need.