Here is a message from the Venice Art Crawl!
The Venice Art Crawl (VAC) is proud to announce its 2022 Legendary Women Artists of Venice Awards. Selected from among the many nominations from both the public and the VAC, this year’s honorees are: Legendary fine artist and designer Isabelle Lago; Emerging Artist goes to film director Megan Raney Aarons; and Rising Star Award recipient, nine year-old artist Misty Srichandr. The three artists will receive their Awards at a ticketed benefit event at the Hotel Erwin in Venice, located at 1697 Pacific Ave., Venice, CA 90291. The event will feature passed hors d’oeuvres, an Instagram auction, an open bar, DJ, live music, exhibit of Andy Warhol images from Venice artists, a silent auction and an opportunity to meet and congratulate the award recipients. The Awards are an integral component of the first Venice Art Crawl of the 2022 season, Thursday March 17 from 6:00-8:00PM. Purchase tickets here.
The Awards evening also kicks off this season’s Venice Art Crawl, and the second all-in-person event since the pandemic began. From 6:00-10:00PM PDT Thursday March 17, experience art on the Venice Boardwalk—Ocean Front Walk from Washington Blvd. North to Rose Ave.—as well as at hubs starting at Windward Ave.; Parks and Sunset; and at the Waterfront at Rose Avenue. Download the latest hub map here on the night. All boardwalk, hub and gallery experiences are free
Isabelle Lago
Isabelle Lago is a renowned painter, muralist and animation designer based in Los Angeles. 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 January 2022.
Megan Raney
Accomplished writer/director/producer Megan Raney Aarons mashes true-life realism with a dark and magical whimsy, with plot twisting her narrative trademark. With her seventh feature documentary UNZIPPED now at festivals, on the heels of a vast library of original fare and a slew of awards, Megan continues to earn her stripes. Megan was selected for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 director mentor program. Raney wrote the scripted psychological thriller CAGES with Guatemala’s Izabel Acevedo. Directed by Megan, the film is set in Guatemala and Texas, and is now casting. Megan is also a creator attached to direct a revisionist historical fiction series, and is currently writing her second feature, JANNERS, set in 1990’s Plymouth (UK), along with a Canadian co-production half-hour scripted comedy series.
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Misty Shichandr
Nine year-old Misty Shichandr is a two-time “My Venice Holiday Poster” contest winner and attends Coeur d’Alene Elementary school.
Established in 2018 in honor of Women’s History Month, the Venice Art Crawl inaugurated the Legendary Women Artists of Venice Awards to recognize the contribution of women to the arts and their profound impact on the fabric of our society. Previous winners include Emily Winters, Judy Baca, Joelle Dumas, Jules Muck, Lucy Walker, Meryl Lebowitz, Jean Edelstein, Christina Angelina, Robin Murez, Ruth Chase, and MB Boissonnault.
Some of the most influential artists in history were female–painters like Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo were instrumental in altering female prominence in the art world—yet have still not achieved equity and inclusion. Women make up only 14% of living artists represented in galleries nationwide and account for only 2% of art money spent at auction. These numbers don’t make sense, considering women earn 75% of bachelors and masters degrees in fine art in the US.
For more information on the event or to purchase tickets visit veniceartcrawl.com.
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About the Legendary Women Artists of Venice Awards
The Legendary Women Artists of Venice Awards were first presented in 2018 at the Hotel Erwin by Councilmember Mike Bonin and George Francisco, President of the Venice Chamber of Commerce. The awards have been presented in 2018 and 2020 to acknowledge Venice’s rich history with the arts, and to honor female artists whose life and work exemplifies the Venice Art Crawl’s mission of creating community through art, education, and social activism. The awards recognize achievement for its recipients and the joining of a new sisterhood in the arts.
About the Venice Art Crawl
The Venice Art Crawl is a Venice Chamber of Commerce hosted event. The VAC’s mission is to preserve the arts in Venice, a place historically known as a vibrant and dynamic art community. Our goal is to share, inspire and promote collaboration within the Venice community through mixers and live art events, and within the broader global artistic community of creators and art lovers through online events. We are an all-volunteer run non-profit organization which is a committee of the Venice Chamber of Commerce. For more information, follow VAC on Instagram at: @veniceartcrawl; Facebook at: @theveniceartcrawl; and Twitter: @veniceartcrawl. For press inquiries, please email: [email protected].
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The full schedule of exhibitions will be updated on www.veniceartcrawl.com the day of event.
