Announcing Viral Venice Videos – A Contest Celebrating Art, Creativity, and Community – Open to Students Everywhere, In Association with the Boys and Girls Club of Venice

Hal’s Bar & Grill, V-SCAPE, and Missionlines.com are pleased to announce a contest open to students of all ages, anywhere in the world, to create thirty-second videos based on works in the TasteForArt.com exhibition. The inaugural show, hanging in the newly opened Upstairs Gallery at Hal’s, is available for viewing online at TasteForArt.com.

A “Taste for Art” is a humorous yet serious show whose theme is food and drink in art and film. It draws entirely from works loaned by leading Southern California artists and collectors. From Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell soup cans, to Rob Reiner’s classic deli scene in “When Harry Met Sally”, to some of today’s cutting-edge artists, the exhibition explores a universal theme in painting, printmaking, sculpture, multiples and film.

The 25 pieces in a “Taste for Art” are the inspiration and springboard for our Viral Venice Videos contest. This is about creativity, having fun, and life imitating art. We invite students everywhere to riff on the art and tell their story in thirty seconds. From its opening in 1987, Hal Frederick’s dedication to art and music established Hal’s Bar & Grill as a Venice community fine arts landmark. This exhibition is sponsored by Missionlines.com and curated by VSCAPE.org, which has been organizing and curating exhibitions in the Venice – Santa Monica area since 2004.

Jurors include:  MARK FARINA – Heads the Video Lab and is a mentor/instructor at Otis College of Art and Design and the Wildwood School; ANDREW HALPERN President, Commercial Production – Envision Media Arts (EMA); RUPERT HITZIG President – Bizazz Media; WILL MUNROE – Student, Actors Studio; LORI PETTY – Actress, Director and Screenwriter; AMY & JOHN RUSKIN – Ruskin Group Theatre / Ruskin School of Acting; HARRY VELASQUEZ – Creative Director – NetStarStudio.com; ELYSA VOSHELL – Associate Director / Gallery & Public Programs Director – Venice Arts

Primarily for glory, winners will receive the following prizes: Food: Dinner at Hal’s for 4 ($150 gift certificate);  Bragging rights: MissionLines.com and ViralVideoMaster.com which will be redirected to open the winner’s website or social media page, exclusively, for the next 5 years;  Collectibles: Set of four Andy Warhol (Marilyn) dessert plates;  Thought: Vintage Compact Oxford English Dictionary;  Swag: The “Official Google LA t-shirt” (not available in the Google store) for each finalist; For official rules and more information, see: ViralVeniceVideos.com.

For more about the Boys and Girls Club of Venice visit: bgcv.org.  

BGCV’s focus is ensuring that members graduate from high school, live a healthy lifestyle, and build a life of community engagement.

Closing date for submissions is Monday, September 15. The five finalists’ videos will be posted for online voting at: ViralVideoVote.com.