What is ArtPartners?

With ArtPartners we bring art mentoring and special projects to the places where young people live, learn, and play. This expands our reach and assures that low–income young people, who would not otherwise have access to our programs, are able to participate. Over the last several years, Venice Arts has chosen to limit its partnerships to several organizations with high need in the local community. These include:

Mar Vista Gardens and surrounding neighborhoods through our partners:

• City's Department of Recreation and Parks
• Culver Slauson Park
• Mar Vista Family Center

Reaching out to greater Los Angeles

• St. Francis Center in downtown LA (serving children of garment workers living in single occupancy rooms)

Foster youth through our partners:

• Fostering Imagination (county–wide enrichment program for foster children)
• Peace4Kids, located in the Watts/Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club

Pico Neighborhood and other low–income and/or at-risk youth through our partners:

• Virginia Avenue Park
• Olympic High School

In the past, we have also partnered (over multiple years or for specific projects) with the City of West Hollywood, Germaine Street Elementary School, Del Rey Continuation High School, Westminster Elementary School, L.A.'s Best, and the Neighborhood Youth Association, among others.

How Do we Choose our Partners?

Venice Arts chooses an ArtPartner based on a number of factors. We may conduct a special project and partner only for the project's duration, such as we did for our project with Russian speaking youth conducted in collaboration with the City of West Hollywood. We may choose to build a long–term project, such as the one that we have at Mar Vista Gardens, which we fully fund. We may see a compelling need in another community and, with the right partner, agree to bring ongoing programs or to train staff in our model.

Because of the scope of our existing programs and our staff size, with few exceptions, we are currently unable to accept new partnerships initiated by others if the partner is not able to participate in funding the project or program. However, we are always receptive to exploring innovative partnership ideas.