The Spirit of Venice

Venice is not the polished tourist destination people associate with glitz California beaches and Southern California affluence. Instead, the eclectic community boasts decades of arts influences, the Venice Family Clinic, multiple activism organizations, gangs and poverty but, overall, is a community that rejects corporate gentrification. The prospective grand opening of a Whole Foods store, which is replacing low-price Big! Lots, is causing a buzz within the community that generally rejects any chain stores within its parameters. In the spirit of Venice, a coalition has formed to get Whole Foods to provide employment for low income residents. So, what exactly is the spirit of Venice today?

The community is supposed to be gentrifying, according to local developer Frank Murphy. Murphy is currently turning two former one-bedroom units with a commercial space worth about $1 million into two two-bedroom condominiums worth about $5 million near the boardwalk. Current Venice residents may not be the ones who purchase his units, but the appeal of a brand new home on the boardwalk is undeniable by prospective affluent residents on the outside. While Murphy occasionally works in tandem with the Venice Community Housing Corporation (VCHC), he willingly admits that he's in the business for the money, "I'll build those [low income] homes to get what I need from the city later on." 

The juxtaposition of development and rising real estate costs in this motley community underscores the community's resistance to gentrification when other communities have welcomed the change. Venice is struggling to preserve its identity as a haven for artists and activists. Lynn Warshafsky, co-founder of non-profit Venice Arts, adamantly described the art community as "gone." Her organization, which teaches media arts to children ages 6-18, welcomes Venice and other Westside residents to embrace the community's arts tradition with modern innovation. Like the Venice Family Clinic, Venice Arts began extending its reach throughout Los Angeles despite the limitations the two organizations' names may suggest. Warshafsky, a Venice resident since the early 80s, witnessed the migration of low income families out of Venice. The displacement of artists over the years has even pushed her to teach her students about gentrification in Venice Arts' classrooms.

Along with the artists, street performers, craft vendors and others prominent on the famous boardwalk, Venice is home to a large impoverished population. The Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the country, is a crossroads for wealth and poverty on the Westside. Its $20 million annual operating budget made possible by the Venice Art Walk, grants, community and corporate donors, provides basic healthcare for low-income people lacking private insurance. While some argue that the clinic attracts a homeless population causing decreases in nearby real estate value, CEO and executive director, Liz Forer attributes this conundrum to a "chicken and egg thing." She believes that the clinic should no longer expand within Venice and focus more on outreach programs for those who do not have easy access to healthcare on the Westside. Also, the issue of Venice vs. Santa Monica is worth looking into. According to Tim Smith, director of communications for the Venice Family Clinic, Venice is more transient-friendly than neighboring Santa Monica, a rivalry that is well-known among residents of the two cities.

The clinic seems to be a microcosm for the gentrification of Venice. Clearly, the clinic is renowned and attracts donations in the millions; however, the wealth is set out to serve a population that is low income, which seems to create an unending cycle. Money is brought in to serve and rehabilitate an impoverished population; in turn, the clinic attracts more poverty because it a well-known niche for those in need. So, does the philanthropy of the clinic outweigh the desire to cover up, if not wipe out, the poverty in Venice with new multi-million dollar developments?

Mostly everyone we spoke with had a strong opinion about the happenings in the community. However, I realize that much of the information we received lacks hard numbers and data that are crucial to understanding the story of Venice in more concrete terms.

Photos: Venice Boardwalk; Steve Clare, executive director for VCHC at Frank Murphy's current development;. Lynn Warshafsky at Venice Arts