To Crenshaw, with Love

The clamor of car horns and passersby isn’t uncommon along Los Angeles’s Crenshaw Boulevard. But on this particular afternoon, these sounds aren’t the product of a regular rush hour; they’re displays of joy and appreciation for artist Patrick Henry Johnson.

Perched high on a scissor forklift, Johnson lifts a paintbrush to a larger-than-life portrait he’s adding to the exterior of a shopping center at the corner of Crenshaw and 59th Street. He’s been transforming a blank wall into a monumental mural for weeks, meticulously adding details to his surrealist homage to influential Black architect Paul Revere Williams.

In the span of an hour, Johnson is met with handshakes, fist bumps, and a friendly honk from a Metro bus driver. Since the artist began work on the piece, he has gotten to know local residents who’ve stopped to ask what he’s up to or thank him for adding art to the neighborhood. They’ve even dropped off food and drinks. “Even at this stage in the process, it’s had an impact on people,” Johnson says. “I’ve had people ask why I’m adding more details to it, because they were so happy to just see art on this wall.”

Positive exchanges between the community and artists creating murals along Crenshaw is a key element of Destination Crenshaw, a reparative public-private community development project that will solidify 1.3 miles of the thoroughfare as a thriving cultural corridor in the heart of Black Los Angeles. Artists AiseBorn, Kofie, and El Mac, members of United to Inspire Collective, shared a similar experience as they worked together on a 10-story mural on the Good Shepherd Manor building titled Monument of Love: Mother and Child. “We ended up getting to know a lot of the people who lived in the building as we were passing by in the hallway or when they were looking out their balconies,” says artist Miles MacGregor, who works under the moniker El Mac. “I think folks appreciated it once the mural started to take shape. The overall support and feedback were encouraging.”

These murals are part of the second round of public art commissioned by Destination Crenshaw and made possible by a Getty Foundation grant. Getty is also the lead arts funder for the commissioning of sculptures by leading Black artists with close ties to Los Angeles—Charles Dickson, Kehinde Wiley, and Maren Hassinger among them—as well as the works’ fabrication and installation in new pocket parks along the corridor. Cumulatively, Destination Crenshaw will commission more than 100 murals, sculptures, installations, performances, and culturally stamped infrastructure, making it the country’s most extensive public art initiative ever devoted to Black artists.

“Destination Crenshaw recognizes that culture can be the foundation for the fortitude and resilience needed to thrive,” says Jason Foster, president and CEO of Destination Crenshaw. “Our vision is to create spaces where Black people feel safe and welcome. These first murals set our trajectory to realizing our collective vision to preserve, anchor, and uplift South LA with Black culture and creativity.”

Destination Crenshaw’s official opening is expected later this year, and it’s already attracting major buzz, including a feature on National Geographic’s “Best of the World” list of places to travel in 2025. In the meantime, we spoke with a few of the local artists creating murals you can already see today.

An Architect’s Surreal Tribute

Situated across from the Metro K Line’s Hyde Park station, Johnson’s Paul R. Williams: From a Pawn to a King is meant to grab attention. Spanning 75 feet across, the work is brimming with trompe l’oeil effects, vibrant colors, and dreamlike scenes of some of Williams’s most well-known projects, including the Stanley Mosk Courthouse and additions to the Beverly Hills Hotel. At its center stands a heroic portrait of Williams, reaching out for his architect nib (a type of fountain pen).

The whimsical composition is emblematic of Johnson’s signature Heroic Surrealism style, inspired by artists like Salvador Dalí and M. C. Escher. Thoughtfully incorporated details pulled from Williams’s diverse portfolio, like a curvilinear ceiling from his Aaron Lilien residence or checkerboard flooring, act as Easter eggs that draw people into the work. “Paul Revere Williams was a great architect who made such important contributions across Los Angeles,” says Johnson. “This is to honor his legacy, but I also want anyone who sees the mural to be delighted, no matter where their eyes land.”

Art for the Youth, Art for Everyone

Just a block away stands Hey Young World by Anthony “Toons One” Martin. Inspired by the Slick Rick song of the same name, the mural melds photorealistic portraits of Black children, vibrant graffiti-style writing (including the lyrics “Hey young world, the world is yours”), and elements of pop art and hip-hop culture, which are central to Martin’s practice.

“The mural is a reminder to the youth to be proud of who you are and where you come from because it’s so important for you, the present, and the future,” Martin says. “I think a lot of people forget that you’re not alone. So it’s not just for the youth, but also for the young at heart.”

Martin frequented the Crenshaw area during his own childhood and has fond memories of the original Crenshaw Mall, the wonders of Karl’s Toys & Hobbies, and the hospital where his mother would take him for checkups. When he learned about the opportunity to create a mural for Destination Crenshaw, he was one of the first artists to submit a proposal. “My first thought was to ask myself what impact the mural could have on the community,” he says. He knew immediately that the design should empower youth and serve as an ode to Crenshaw.

The mural is rife with motifs meant to speak to different members of the community. References to nature show respect to ancestors and the Indigenous people of the area. A scroll emblazoned with the word “Crenshaw” represents the blending of old and new cultures. The silhouette of a boy filled with stars and galaxies is an homage to Johnson’s beloved mural The Elixir, which depicted the silhouette of a woman with the universe swirling inside her. (Originally completed in 2011 near Stocker Street, The Elixir has since been demolished. Johnson is set to repaint the landmark work on the site’s new building upon its completion.)

Following the unveiling of Hey Young World, Martin plans to invite locals to the mural for an open discussion about its symbolism. “It’s important to share with the community and have a conversation with them so they understand what your intentions were,” he says. “That creates a symbiotic relationship where people can understand the art and feel more connected to it. That’s a wonderful thing about murals. When people get excited about them, they bring people there to show them and share that message.”

It’s All About Sharing the Joy

Artist Kayla Salisbury echoes this community-centered ethos in her approach to her forthcoming mural A Family Affair, which will be located at Dulan’s, a beloved soul food restaurant and banquet hall on Crenshaw. A South Central native, Salisbury is no stranger to the food at Dulan’s or the impact the business has had in its 40-plus years cooking for the community. When she was a teenager, her family held a reception at the banquet hall following her father’s unexpected passing. Though the day was a blur, she clearly remembers the grace the Dulan family offered to her own.

The mural, she says, feels like a full circle moment. “I wanted to highlight the Dulan family and their success,” she recalls. “You feel the soul in the food and the spaces, and I’m just communicating back to them how I see their story.”

Salisbury is committed to uplifting communities and celebrating the triumphs of Black and Brown people in her art. As an art teacher and the founder of Coloured Art Studio, a nonprofit that offers artistic experiences for students of color in low-income communities, she also knows firsthand the positive impact public art can have on people. “My love for art is still burning because it’s not about me,” she says. “It’s always been about sharing the joy and empowering someone else.”

As she prepares to start the mural early this year, Salisbury imagines the finished piece as an extension of these values. “I want anyone who sees the mural to feel like Dulan’s is a space of and for families,” she says. “Crenshaw already does that. We create spaces by us and for us. I want people to walk by and know they’re welcome and that they can contribute to and create their own memories here, like the Dulan family has.”

To learn more about Destination Crenshaw and how to support its vision, check out www.destinationcrenshaw.la and follow it on social media @destinationcrenshaw.