A new art project on the West Coast will visually capture the essence of Black history and culture in Los Angeles. Local political officials recently announced that 1.3 miles of Crenshaw Boulevard will be transformed into an artistic space that highlights how African Americans are embedded in the fabric of L.A., the LAist reported.
Dubbed “Destination Crenshaw” the tribute will be along the Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX line, the news outlet writes. It will feature larger-than-life murals, monuments, outdoor spaces and other elements that will bring stories about the Black experience in Los Angeles to life. Local political leaders believed that it was important to bring the achievements of the Black community in L.A. to the forefront. The city has evolved into a melting pot and they don’t want the contributions of African Americans to be forgotten.
“The hope is that [people] understand that L.A., among other things, is quintessentially a Black city,” Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson told the news outlet. “In the same way that it’s a Latino city, in the same way it’s a Jewish city, in the same way that it’s a Japanese city. The stories of black people in this town are central to what this town is, and what it continues to develop into.”
Harris-Dawson wanted to find a way to preserve the street art that already exists in Crenshaw, but add more elements to it so that it can serve as a learning tool for visitors and future generations. He also hopes that the buzz surrounding Destination Crenshaw will create an increase in more locally-owned innovative businesses in the area. The renderings for the project—which has been backed by Los Angeles natives Nipsey Hussle and Issa Rae—were revealed this month. The Destination Crenshaw team has already enlisted the help of local artists to contribute their work.
The project will break ground in 2019 and is slated to be completed in 2020.
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Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News