Artwork on the Move in Los Angeles

Hepp, Joy M

Last month AARP in Los Angeles announced our partnership with local Chicana painter, Yolanda Gonzalez and leading non-profit visual arts center, Self Help Graphics , as part of our “Portraits of Community” project. As a result, Angelenos can now see Gonzalez’s portraits featured on three Metro buses, a Metro Gold Line train, and one hundred-fifteen Los Angeles Metro bus shelters throughout Los Angeles. Gonzalez is the first of several diverse artists who are slated to debut “Portraits of Community” artwork in Los Angeles throughout 2016.

The “Portraits of Community” project is the result of conversations held with Los Angeles residents over the course of 2015. Gonzalez was then able to translate highlights of those conversations into the innovative murals now being used for the buses, trains and bus shelters.

Gonzalez is proud to have been able to create a fluid representation of the Los Angeles community. “It’s absolutely exhilarating,” Gonzalez says. “I’m hoping this project is able to reach people on a personal level, and that the community is able to relate to it.”

Gonzalez is consistently inspired by her community in her artistic endeavors. “Even at my age, and even as long as I’ve been creating artwork, the inspiration never ceases to amaze me,” she says

Make sure to keep an eye out for Gonzalez’s artwork throughout Los Angeles. Perhaps it can serve as your own daily dose of inspiration!