Local street artists turn boarded up windows in Downtown LA into works of art during coronavirus pandemic

LOS ANGELES -- 40 days into Los Angeles' Safer at Home order, local street artists descended on the West Elm furniture store on Broadway and 9th street in Downtown Los Angeles for "Let's Paint The Town," a public art installation with the goal of turning unsightly boarded up windows into works of art.

This public art installation was originally launched by street artist Jeremy Novy and Art Share LA.

"I've noticed that a lot of other cities have recently utilized their boarded up buildings for artist," said Novy. "So I wanted to bring it here, and Art Share LA was amazing in getting the project moving forward really quickly."

The boarded up windows of the West Elm building now sport numerous original street art pieces from several different well-known artists. All of them COVID-19 related, or with a positive message.

Local street artist Kar_Part told ABC7, "Jeremy reached out to me and we sort of divided up our network... and tried to pull together a fairly diverse, yet cohesive group."

Artist Corie Mattie, dubbed the "LA Hope Dealer," uses her art to inspire hope and spread the message that we are all in this together. "Im trying to give hope to people, and you know symbolize how all of this is only temporary and we can get through it as a whole," said Mattie.

Novy told ABC7, "Hopefully it can grow from here, and hopefully help some artists in LA that are hurting right now."

Art Share LA sees artists as essential workers, and is committed to paying artists for their work. If you would like to donate visit artsharela.org