The city of Los Angeles thinks art is crime.
L.A. changed its municipal code several years ago to classify murals as "signs," meaning no mural can be painted without a pricey and difficult to obtain permit from the city.
Now the city is cracking down on unpermitted murals: Private contractors are covering up murals while police are issuing fines, making arrests, and even conducting raids on artists.
Piper Severance is a Change.org member and a close friend of Saber, a prominent street artist who is campaigning to end this ban on murals in L.A. Piper started a petition on Change.org asking L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to end the moratorium on murals. Please sign Piper’s petition today.
Saber is a recent victim of L.A.’s out-of-control mural crackdown. In April, one of L.A.’s graffiti removal companies broke onto private property to paint over a mural Saber and other artists had created for a local art gallery’s exhibition on street art. The mural was completely legal -- but a private contractor paid by the city of Los Angeles covered up a work of art.
Los Angeles has a rich history of murals -- it even used to be called the "mural capital of the world." At a time when the city is slashing funding for arts education (half of L.A.’s music teachers were laid off this spring), it doesn’t make sense to spend more money to cover up art that beautifies the city.
Mayor Villaraigosa and City Attorney Trutanich probably think that no one cares if they whitewash L.A.’s art -- they need to see that thousands of people are willing to stand up for L.A.’s murals. Please sign Piper’s petition to end the moratorium on murals in L.A.:
http://www.change.org/petitions/end-mural-moratorium
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- Corinne and the Change.org team
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