SANTA MONICA—Five artists organized a meet-up on Friday, May 1 in Santa Monica to express their gift of art as a message of hope through the difficult times.
One of their prominent artworks included the word “Togetherness” written on plywood for the citizens to see above Sur La Table, a kitchenware store on Wilshire Boulevard.
Kathleen Rawson, chief executive of Downtown Santa Monica, Inc., contacted Beautify, a nonprofit organization in Santa Monica attempting to find something that will give the people any inspiration who are being impacted by this pandemic. They pulled together a small budget to create several “Covid-19 response murals”.
“It really adds a layer of color and inspiration in these grim times,” Rawson says.
Sgt. Scott Mcgee of the Santa Monica Police Department says, “This type of art has the tendency to reduce vandalism, break-ins, looting and all forms of crimes that may result from abandoned, neglected or boarded-up buildings.”
Beautify Earth has presented over 120 different types of murals ranging from the words “Gratitude” to “You Can’t Quarantine Love” written on the Santa Monica walls, giving a vision of inspiration to the public. One of the campaigns they are promoting is called “Back to the Streets.” Their primary goal is to create 1,000 murals by 1,000 artists in 100 cities.
As a result of the COVID-19, 95 percent of artists have lost their income. With this sponsored campaign, artists have the opportunity to make $7,000 for each mural they paint. Their motivation to initiate this campaign came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal period. The Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project gave income to artists to create works for the public to bring the country out of depression.
