Artists Put Color Back in Whitewashed Graffiti Pit

The graffiti pit by the Venice pavilion is back again in sparkling color.

Seventeen teams of six artists each have repainted the walls, which had been accidentally whitewashed by a city crew in January. The result “looks awesome,” said Sydney Kamlager, public art director for the Social and Public Art Resource Center, a city-funded agency that provided the paint and materials.

Nor was the restoration, which occurred Saturday, your ordinary graffiti. Volunteer artists first sketched out their proposed 30-foot projects at a series of community meetings, centering on the theme of the “City of Angels,” Kamlager said. The fine-tuned sketches were then translated into murals.