Creative Equity Scholarship Fund

In 2012, Venice Arts launched the Creative Equity Scholarship Fund to support low-income young people involved at Venice Arts and on a path to college or a creative career.

Ted Warshafsky with two of his five grandchildren

The initial gift was provided for a sub-fund, The Ted M. Warshafsky Scholarship, named in memory of Executive Director Lynn Warshafsky's dad. It keeps alive the legacy of Ted's Anne Frank | Emmett Till Scholarship Fund, which provided scholarships to young people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to honor two innocent young people who, in Ted's words, "were slaughtered in their teens at the altar of bigotry: Anne Frank by the Nazis because she was Jewish; Emmett Till by the KKK because he was African American."

Consistent with Ted's approach, scholarships are given based on financial need and dedication to learning, not on grades, as Ted believed that all motivated young people should have the opportunity to go to college. He knew, from his own experience growing up in poverty on Chicago’s South Side, that attending college can be transformative.

Artist John Baldessari

In 2016, the Creative Equity Scholarship Fund was more than doubled through a generous gift from the John Baldessari Family Foundation, as well as other contributors (see below). These additional dollars allow Venice Arts to support a wide-range of creative development opportunities for low-income teens and young adults.

Photographer Gregg Michael Zwirn

In 2018, the family of photographer Gregg Michael Zwirn honored his memory through the creation of a memorial fund to support the next generation of young photographers enrolled in our programs. His story, and a gallery of his photographs, can be found here.

If you would like to contribute, or to create a sub-fund in honor or in memory of a loved one, please contact Director of Advancement Kelly Slattery.