Venice : Mural Grants Available

The Venice-based Social and Public Art Resource Center is offering creators of city murals grants of $500 to repair their works.

“Los Angeles has long been acknowledged as the mural capital of the world, with well over 1,000 murals within its borders,” a spokesman for the group said. “Many local murals have fallen into disrepair and are in need of restoration. Artists have been the primary caretakers of these murals without financial support.” The program gives artists the opportunity to repair their own works with money from the center’s Emergency Relief Fund.

Artists should write to the Emergency Relief Fund, c/o SPARC, 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, Calif. 90291, describing the mural in need of repair. A photograph or slide of the original mural, with its date of completion, should be submitted along with a recent photograph or slide of the damaged work or section in need of restoration. Submissions should be postmarked no later than Feb. 15.

SPARC is a nonprofit, community-based arts organization that promotes all aspects of mural painting. It receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the city’s Cultural Affairs Department, among others.

Last year, the center gave nine awards to artists for the restoration of their works.