Kicking off our 25th Anniversary celebrations, Venice Stories is an exhibition of youth-created photography, film, animation, and comics created as part of a year-long storytelling project across all workshops in our Art Mentoring & Education program. Capturing the people, places, history, and current pulse of the Venice community, these works explore the neighborhood from a variety of perspectives. Photo stories include portraits of long-time Venice artists; images that show the dynamism of skateboard culture; photo essays and interviews with multi-generational residents; and a series of local civil servants. Video stories focus on black surfers and the history of racial restrictions on the beach; the ‘hidden history’ of Venice’s communities of color; and newer residents/businesses in Venice. The comics class imagines the pre-history of Venice—as seen through the eyes of pterodactyls. Together these works record the rich tapestry that makes Venice vibrant and unique.
