• about
  • people
  • awards & recognition
    • venice arts
    • student
  • media
    • press received
    • press releases
  • plans & impacts
    • plans
    • impacts
    • stories
  • jobs
    • staff
    • contract faculty
    • college internships
    • paid summer opportunities
  • contact
• spotlight
  • microcinema
  • comics & animation
  • galleries
  • profiles
    • students & mentors
    • honorees
    • community
• classes
  • youth
    • summer camp | campamento de verano 2013
    • spring | primavera 2012
  • adult
• programs
  • art mentoring & education overview
    • advanced studies
    • internship program
    • scholarship fund
    • youth class schedule
    • adult class schedule
  • documentary
  • gallery & public programs
    • current & upcoming
    • past
    • adult workshops
  • consulting & training
  • the institute for photographic empowerment
• projects
• venue rental
• library
• get involved
  • volunteer
  • visit the library
  • let's hear it from you!
  • resources & links
• support
  • spotlight campaigns
  • it's easy to give!
  • business arts circle
    • bac member profiles
  • sponsors & contributors
  • shop
• login

Lynn Einstein: The intuitive mind is a sacred gift...the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. VIEW ANOTHER RANDOM THOUGHT Lynn Warshafsky Lynn, Co-Founder and Executive Director, where she has worked with communities locally and internationally to design and implement media-based arts programs for children and adults. Lynn has consulted with Foundations, NGOs, and community groups on program development, curriculum design, and artist training. She created Venice Arts unique model of mentoring through the arts, and spearheaded Venice Arts' first program in digital arts in 1998. In 2007, together with Jim Hubbard, Dr. Neal Baer, and the University of Southern California's Geoffrey Cowan, Lynn founded the Institute for Photographic Empowerment. In 2010, as one outcome of this effort, USC launched the first-ever Minor in the field and, in 2008-09, Lynn was appointed a Fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism by Dean Cowan. In 2003, Lynn received a Fellowship from Stanford University to attend the Graduate School of Business' program for nonprofit leaders in the arts. In 2002, Lynn was one of 10 arts leaders selected, countywide, for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s Arts Leadership Initiative. From 2000–04, Lynn held a Faculty appointment at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and, from 1990 to 2004, was a consultant and trainer for the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine's Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. In addition to her work at Venice Arts, Lynn has also been an organization development consultant since 1990, working with arts and human service organizations, foundations, schools, and governmental agencies. Lynn studied photography as an undergraduate student and at the Los Angeles Women’s Building, where she also taught. She received her Master's degree in Psychology in 1982 and has held a license in the State of California since 1985. She has one daughter, Sofie. CURRENT ACTIVITY Observer in Advanced Studies: Internship Program Organizer in Picturing Health: South Los Angeles' Figueroa Corridor Mastermind in BMS Think Tank Organizer in Through Our Eyes: Hong Kong Organizer in Picturing Health: Coachella Valley Participant in Venice Arts Web Developers Observer in Picturing Health: Long Beach Documentary Project Participant in Building Healthy Communities: South Kern Documentary Project Organizer in Picturing Health: Boyle Heights Documentary Project Participant in Picturing Health: East Salinas Documentary Project Organizer in The House Is Small But The Welcome Is Big Observer in Building Healthy Communities: South and East Merced Participant in Shipping and Receiving: Letters and Photographs between Venice and South Dakota Director in Picturing Health: Southern and Central California Organizer in Green + Black = White Observer in Got Caught Up Out There: Photography by Homeless Women Co-creator in The House is Small, But the Welcome is Big Organizer in Picturing Race: From Los Angeles to South Africa Traveler in Hong Kong February 2011 Organizer in Media Assistance Organizer in Youth Art Interns Participant in Youth Art Interns Organizer in From Senegal: Stories That Demands To Be Heard Organizer in Venice Arts Web Developer (mini)

	Draws Too Much in Class: A Portrait of Mike Jasorka This is the first in a series of video and still bio-portraits of the artists working at Venice Arts. Created by volunteer artist-mentor and filmmaker, Bill Clarkson, about Mike Jasorka, a Lead Artist in our Comics program. Curated by Bill | Items: 2
	Through Our Eyes: Summer 2010 These are some photos from the summer 2010 training program that Venice Arts led for the fabulous Teaching Artists working with the Ho Family Foundation, as well as some photos from the Photo Camp led by the Teaching Artists. Curated by Lynn | Items: 10

Stories of Change From the Kolda Region, Senegal, January 2013—The photos in this gallery share images from the field as the Venice Arts-Tostan team work on three short-short films (4-5 minutes) funded by Sundance-Skoll's Stories of Change. Working titles: Peace Come In Stories of health, education, and the environment. Waylo Waylo [Change | Changemént] The story of 13 year-old Maounde, who was determined to be educated, and her father, who comes to understand the importance of girls' eduction. The Crossing A story of interethnic marriage and the hope it offers for peace and security. These films will be used by Tostan's staff in three different ways: at the local level to sensitize and educate people living in other villages in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea Bissau and working with Tostan for the first time; to demonstrate to other NGOs working in Africa Tostan's unique approach; and, to raise awareness and understanding in the international community about positive change in West Africa facilitated by Tostan's work. We hope that these films will also show the extraordinary efforts of men and women, elders and youth to break from long-held traditions, perhaps making a small contribution to inspiring the efforts of others working toward peace and security, whatever their methods and wherever they may live. Tostan's Model: Tostan's intensive, three-year community-based approach to informal education in Africa starts in a classroom, teaching people about human rights—to health, education, a clean environment—after which participants disseminate or "diffuse" what they have learned to others in their families and communities, as well as to other villages. Tostan also works with each community to create their own infrastructure, called the Community Management Committee, with elected leaders who oversee community development and assure that the work lives on long after Tostan has left. For more information, visit Tostan. Curated by Lynn | Items: 15

Teaching In The Field: Senegal Our third day of training included reviewing shooting exercises from the following day and doing critique; taking out and reviewing the field-equipment (better cameras, sound equipment, and more); and a team shooting exercise that focused on interviews and/or portraits. With one interpreter and a few participants who also spoke English, the teams navigated French, English, Woloff, and Pulaar to create their pieces. Our Process Alex, Brigid, and Christian each worked with a different team of three participants with a goal to help them integrate everything they had learned, thus far about the power of story and participant storytelling, documentary aesthetics, and filmmaking concepts and technical skills. Each group worked in crews, with some choosing a single role for the duration of the exercise (sound, camera, direction, etc.) and others rotating roles. In addition to integrating knowledge and building skills through practice, our goal was to give participants an experience of "teaching in the field," which is central to Venice Arts pedagogy. This was done in several ways: At times, the Venice Arts' filmmaker set-up the shots and talked through what they were doing and why, including other choices that they might make; at other times, the participants set-up all components of the shot and received feedback from the filmmaker and their peers on shot composition, sound, light, and more. The filmmakers also asked questions of the participant-team to get them thinking about the creative and technical choices that they were making and why. They also worked collaboratively to make decisions about what stories to pursue and what the approach might be. Curated by Lynn | Items: 9