March 20, 2017

Meet Andrew Keegan of Full Circle Venice

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Keegan.

Andrew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
That’s a loaded question; I probably need to write a book to tell the full story! In regards to my recent work as Co-Founder at Full Circle Venice, the story begins in 2014 when I stepped into the Rose Temple, which is now our home on the corner of Hampton and Rose. A few years prior, things in my life seemed to be falling apart, and I found myself on the streets helping start the Occupy Venice movement. I recognized our local artists’ desire to form a heart-centered community. So when the Temple became available, I decided to take the step to initiate our Church of Co-creation. We wanted to provide a safe space for people to gather and connect. The Co-Creator’s Handbook, which was written by some of our elders and advisors, Carolyn Anderson and Katharine Roske, was a formative text and served as a great inspiration for how people can be brought together in a spiritual way to create positive shifts in the world. It’s both a curriculum for how people can work together, as well as a philosophy for effective organizing. What we’ve been able to do is form a spiritual center that has activated people of many beliefs and backgrounds to focus their energy on spirited solutions. That’s what we do that at Full Circle everyday!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been anything but a smooth road–and the boulders along the way are what have inspired so many transformations, for myself and our team of co-creators. The fact that Full Circle has existed for nearly 3 years in the ever gentrifying landscape of Venice is an impressive victory for everyone who cares about co-creating a world with more love! We have been mocked, ridiculed and dissed, with financial challenges ever-present along the razors’ edges of a rocky road. .

Within our first 6 months, our building was sold and our rent increased–right around the same time that our work was completely mischaracterized in the press. Surrendering to a power higher than myself, the funds came in from a donor that allowed us to keep going, and before long we had the chance to tell our true story in the LA Times and to Dan Harris on ABC’s Nightline.

Then there was a raid by the ABC in May of 2015 when a third-party vendor sold Kombucha tea to raise money for the Sea Shepard Foundation. Full Circle and I were again subjected to ridicule in the press. There was a fake news story that falsely stated I had personally been arrested during the event when I wasn’t even there at the time of the raid. The damage to my reputation continues to still be felt today, we filed 2 lawsuits against these fake news organizations.

We’ve faced financial hardship from the moment our doors opened and have been treading water month by month to keep this little church accessible and open. Without funding and with scant financial backing, it’s been a rag-tag team of more than 100 people committed to co-creation which has allowed us to continue–and I am so grateful to everyone who has brought their unique talents to this experience! We’ve persevered through challenges, figuring out how to make ends meet after our building sold the first time and the rent doubled. We now have an event model that allows us to offer quality programming while sustaining our operations. In 2016, we had 364 unique events and activities take place at the temple!

Though our building is up for sale for the second time, we’ve also had incredible support from our landlord. The owners have allowed us to be in an arrangement that keeps our doors open while we find investors and develop a long-term plan for the future. In the meantime we continue to host high-quality events, often to a sold out room! I consider it a victory to simply have had this experience with everyone!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about FULL CIRCLE VENICE – what should we know?
Full Circle is an experience–one the yearns for your involvement! Over the past 2 1/2 years, we’ve hosted over 900 spiritual and community events in our space at the Rose Temple; meditation classes, sound healings, transformational workshops, music gathering, film screenings, and visionary art shows are just a slice of the spirited community that we’ve been able to build!

We’ve hosted so many magical gatherings at Full Circle and they’ve all been unique and special occasions. Recently Trevor Hall performed an intimate, sold-our acoustic show at the temple that really crystallized what we are all about. The moment that brought the house to a stand-still was when he performed the song “Warrior”, a tribute to the efforts at Standing Rock. His line “If you are a rock, stand up like a mountain,” is the battle-cry for this moment in our generation’s history–it’s up to us to stand up and lead the way! Here’s a link to the performance!

We’re also extremely proud to be working with the broader community. Last year we worked with AltaMed, the nation’s largest primary healthcare provider, to program and produce a Global Wellness Day event for middle and high school students. We’ve also hosted the Westside Coalition at the temple in support of their Dress for Success fundraiser to help the homeless population. Recently, Full Circle was represented on the Santa Monica Inter-Faith Council, and has been active working on solutions to tensions with law-enforcement.

Humanitarian activism, social justice, and progressive values are in the DNA of our millennial generation. Our vision for Full Circle is bigger than one temple in Venice. What we are doing here needs to be replicated in cities and towns across America, and our intention is to do that over time. People who are feeling lost, confused, and isolated all over the world need the teachings and practices that we take for granted here on the Westside.

I invite anyone looking for community and connection to experience our unique tribe at Full Circle!

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