Photo Exhibit Highlights Venice Housing Problem: Report

VENICE, CA — A photo gallery installation by a Venice artist highlights the growing problem of evictions and expensive housing in her neighborhood.

According to the Associated Press, when Judy Branfman's friends and neighbors began being priced out of their homes in Venice Beach, she started noticing a growing problem. With her camera, Branfman began documenting each time she saw houses and apartments being sold, renovated and then relisted at a higher price.

“The idea was to illustrate the problem, to show what we’ve lost. You know, make it visual so people would walk in and be a little shocked, and want to do something about it,” Branfman said at the gallery this week.

Branfman's exhibit is at the Beyond Baroque Gallery and will show visitors a map depicting neighborhoods in Venice where nearly 1,500 rent-controlled units have disappeared from the housing market, according to the AP.

The exhibit is no longer on display at the art gallery, but a smaller version may make its way to the Venice Library soon, according to Branfman.

Read more from the Associated Press: Lack of affordable housing in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood inspires activism and art