[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAINT ELMO VILLAGE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAREN BASS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 29, 2020

  Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, on May 25, 2019, Saint Elmo Village 
celebrated 50 years as an artist colony that has worked to bring art 
into the everyday lives of young and old in the heart of Los Angeles. I 
congratulate all of the past and present residents, teachers, neighbors 
and supporters. I also commend its community of citizens for using 
their powers of creativity and artistic expression to create an oasis 
of beauty in Mid-City.
  Saint Elmo Village was founded in 1969 by painter Rozzell Sykes, once 
featured in Life magazine, and his artist nephew Roderick Sykes, who 
hoped to use a small group of bungalows in the 4800 block of St. Elmo 
Drive to enhance the neighborhood and to further their artistic 
visions. Their goals: to capitalize on a thriving art scene in Southern 
California; construct a space to nurture urban and African American 
artists; and to prove that everyone has creative talents.
  The Village continued to gain prestige, with the Sykes receiving 
numerous public art commissions and international recognition for their 
work, specifically in painting and photography. Soon enough, Saint Elmo 
welcomed resident artists to expand the diversity and types of pieces 
created at the Village.
  With creativity at its core, Saint Elmo Village consistently 
emphasizes the inclusive aspects of art-making. Now under the 
leadership of executive director Jacqueline Sykes, the organization 
holds workshops and art showings tailored to the idea that all people 
can be creative.
  Community engagement stands as a cornerstone of the Village's 
mission. St. Elmo offers a creative space for locals and hosts art 
classes, festivals, and numerous educational enrichment programs to 
spread love for art in the Mid-City neighborhood.
  Guided by a singular phrase, ``Do What You Love--Love What You Do'' 
Saint Elmo Village has spent a half-century enriching Los Angeles. I 
congratulate Saint Elmo Village on its host of accolades, and I look 
forward to another half century of memorable milestones.

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