Paint for Peace
Take the beef off the wall.
Paint for Peace transforms walls carrying messages of gang conflict into murals that carry the voice of the larger community.
Through partnerships with residents, businesses, community organizations, property owners, artists, and funding partners, Paint for Peace creates artwork rooted in the people, stories, culture, and character of the neighborhoods where the murals live.
A Wall Can Carry a Community's Voice
The goal isn't simply to replace what's on a wall with something beautiful. It's to create something the community can recognize as its own.
Grandparents, parents, young people, business owners, artists, and the people who have watched the neighborhood change over generations all carry pieces of its story. Paint for Peace draws from those stories to create artwork that represents something larger than any one voice.
The hope is to create murals with enough meaning, craft, and authenticity that people throughout the community, including those who may have previously defaced the wall, can see something worth respecting.
How it works
1. Identify the Wall
Paint for Peace works with property owners and community partners to identify walls where a mural can help change what the space communicates.
2. Understand the Space
We learn about the wall, the surrounding neighborhood, who experiences it, and what the property owner or community partner knows about the area.
When broader community input would benefit the project, community engagement can be incorporated into the process.
3. Develop the Artwork
The artist develops a mural rooted in the people, culture, stories, and character of the community while responding specifically to the wall and its surroundings.
4. Paint
The wall is prepared and the mural is professionally installed. Depending on the project, community members or young people may also be invited to participate in bringing portions of the artwork to life.
5. Give the Wall Something New to Say
The finished mural becomes part of the neighborhood—not simply covering what was there, but adding an image intended to carry pride, representation, beauty, and respect.
Partnership Makes It Possible
Consistent funding allows Paint for Peace to respond when the right walls and opportunities emerge.
Funding partners provide the resources needed to keep artists, materials, equipment, site preparation, and other project costs available without requiring each wall to begin with a new fundraising effort.
Rather than tying a partner's support to an individual mural, contributions help sustain the larger initiative and its ability to transform walls throughout Los Angeles County.
Measuring the Impact
Funding partners receive a twice-yearly summary of the work their support helped make possible, including walls transformed, completed artwork, project locations, community participation where applicable, and stories or other indicators of community impact.
Property & Community Partners
Property owners and community organizations help identify walls, provide local insight, secure access and permissions, and help determine what approach makes sense for each location.
Piece Makers
Professional artists bring their individual styles, skills, and perspectives to Paint for Peace while creating artwork that reflects the people, culture, and character of the communities where the work will live.
Community Participation
When appropriate, residents or young people may contribute through conversations, design input, or Community Paint Days. The level of participation is determined by what makes sense for the wall, project, and surrounding community.