RIP to Venice Legend and Artist Emily Winters. Thank you for sharing your art and your beautiful energy with Venice! – Venice Paparazzi | Venice Beach CA, Photo Agency, Community Info, News, Events

Photo courtesy of the the family

Here is a message from Emily Winters daughter Genevieve Cordova!

EMILY WINTERS. Feb. 7, 1936-Dec. 28, 2024.

It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the death of my mother, artist and activist, Emily Winters. Emily was born in Quincy, Ill. and went to Quincy High School after which she graduated with a BFA from Chicago Art Institute. She married classmate artist Ramon J Cordova in 1961, before moving to Venice California in 1963. There she raised two daughters, prospered as an artist, social activist and muralist.

She designed and painted two murals, The JAYA mural on Dell Ave, 1975, depicting our life on the canals in the early and mid 70s and how the LA Marina Del Rey “grand plan” aimed to demolish our community and replace it with a extension of the affluent marina. Emily’s friend and artist Mary Jane, founded a group called JAYA, A Woman’s Art Collective, who helped Emily realize this mural and also joined the LA City Wide Mural Project. Later she designed and painted a second mural, Endangered Species, 1990, both on the themes of the gentrification of neighborhoods and how this gentrification has endangered our communities. Emily’s Endangered Species mural was funded by the Neighborhood Pride program through SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center), headed by Judith F. Baca, renowned Mexican-American muralist, and sponsored by the city of LA, employing and empowering diverse youth from across the region.

Emily’s Endangered Species mural

Emily Winter’s Jaya mural

Emily also collaborated with her partner S.E. Mendelson published the HISTORY OF THE VENICE CANALS COLORING BOOK in 1978 and was able to publish a second edition of the book just before her illness, COLORFUL HISTORY OF THE VENICE CANALS, 2024, with her friend Ginny Blades.

She was one of the founding members of the Free Venice Beachhead, our local newspaper, where she made many artistic contributions in the form of articles and political cartoons and creative headers. She co-founded with Suzanne Thompson the VENICE ARTS COUNCIL, which raised money to create the Venice Beach Art Tile Benches on Ocean Front Walk, and made two of the tiles and designed the accompanying book. The Arts Council with Suzanne’s help raised the money for the restoration and refurbishments of both the JAYA mural and the Endangered Species mural.

Emily was a founding member of VJAMM (the Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument committee), and with the Arts Council, helped to design and raise the VENICE JAPANESE AMERICAN MEMORIAL MONUMENT —an obelisk memorial at the North West corner of Lincoln Blvd. and Venice Blvd. at which Japanese Americans were mandated to be transported to internment camps during WWII. S he visited Manzanar (the location of the internment camps) annually, and make art pilgrimages there with her painting group.

Emily was a tireless advocate for the arts, social justice, housing justice, supporter of Venice Community Housing Corporation, and most recently, the crisis of the unhoused in the Venice community and in our country at large. Emily served the LA City wide Taskforce for mural ordinance, and served on the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council. She also participated and advocated for the community in the often contentious chamber of commerce. She has won many awards from the City of Los Angeles, the city of Venice, and has exhibited around the area including participating in a show at LACMA (LA County Museum of Art) “Made in California.”

She will be greatly missed and is survived by her two daughters, myself, Genevieve, sister Camille, and her son in law, James S Cheney.