Venice Interview Paper

Art is expression. It is gives a voice to things that cannot be put into words. Venice Beach is notorious for the prolific artists found on nearly every corner. I had the pleasure of interviewing them on what Venice means to them. Walking around Venice, visitors can see a great variety of art. There are sculptures, murals, paintings, tattoo parlors, and performance art. When speaking to the artists I asked them, “Why come to Venice beach? Why sell your art here?” They described venice as a melting pot of creativity. It was an environment that allows for the stimulation and blossoming of creativity. It is also a popular venue for tourists and art enthusiasts of all types. One woman I interviewed originally started selling her art at Venice beach to fundraise for her daughter’s drama program, “within two hours I had made two hundred dollars from doing henna” (Zahra 2016). Since then she began to regularly profit off her skills as a henna artist. Another artist by the name of Frank B Gentile describes Venice beach as an “eclectic environment [in which] artists thrive” (Gentile 2016). He praised the diversity that could be found all over Venice beach, not just within the varying mediums of art but also within the food, the music, and the people.
This may be due to the increase of gang activity in the area as soon as night falls. The artists did not comment on this subject but when asked about another serious problem in Venice beach they had plenty to say. Venice beach is home to a profuse homeless population. They did not mind having to sell their goods next to the homeless but they did agree that the growing homeless population is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed. While many artists proposed the formation of committees and asking the city to provide homes for those living on the streets, none of those I interviewed mentioned anything about getting directly