L.A.`s Beaches to Get Makeover as County Lifeguard Towers Spruce up in Anticipation for "Summer of Color"

Teams of Volunteers Will Simultaneously Descend on 31 Miles of Beach from Malibu
to Palos Verdes on Sunday to Paint Brightly Hued Top-Coats on 100,000 Sq. Ft. of
Tower Railings, Signifying the Beginning Phase of the Ambitious Civic and Public
Art Project
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--
On Sunday, April 25th, from 8a - 11:30a, 1,500 volunteers will paint the faded
rails and cross beams on LA County lifeguard towers in preparation for "Summer
of Color," a massive civic and public art project conceived and developed by
Portraits of Hope (www.portraitsofhope.org) that will visually transform 158
towers on LA`s world renowned beaches. The scale of the Sunday morning
undertaking for LA`s iconic lifeguard towers can be likened to the volunteers
taking a 1" paint brush and painting a line to the international space station
-- or putting it another way: painting at a 65 mile per hour clip.

The tower rail-painting precedes the 5-month "Summer of Color" exhibition that
begins in mid-May in which vibrant art panels painted by nearly 6,000 children
in hospitals, schools, and social service programs -- with participation from
nearly 2,000 adult volunteers -- will be installed on the exterior walls and
rooftops of the lifeguard towers for all 31 miles of beach.

With the full-scale exhibition and beach transformation only weeks away, the
Sunday railing operation is a key project milestone in which each tower`s rails
will be colorized in one of five bright Benjamin Moore tones: Yellow, Rumba
Orange, Sweat Pea, Toronto Blue, and Crocus Petal Purple.

LA residents and visitors alike are invited to sign-up for Sunday.

Sunday, April 25th, Event Info:

When: 8a - 11:30a.

Where: All 158 towers in Malibu, Zuma, Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey,
Dockweiler, Playa Del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo, Palos
Verdes, and San Pedro Beaches

How: 10-person volunteer teams will meet at their pre-assigned towers. 400
Starbucks stores throughout Los Angeles are helping to sign up volunteers for
the day. Benjamin Moore is generously providing hundreds of gallons of fine
quality paints and Vista Paints is coordinating and directing the paint and
paint supplies distribution. Wooster Brush Co. has donated 1,600 rollers and
brushes for the rail painting. Ford Motor Company, which has already greened the
lifeguards transportation fleet, will have "Summer of Color" art-wrapped hybrid
vehicles ready to transport materials, Portraits of Hope representatives, and
other officials throughout the day. Subversive Nature Designs is donating
hundreds of tee shirts for easy identification of volunteers. The volunteer
effort is being coordinated with The Department of Beaches and Harbors and the
Department of Lifeguards.

Background:

Who and What: Portraits of Hope, founded by brothers Ed Massey and Bernie
Massey, merges the production and exhibition of high-profile public art with
creative therapy for hospitalized children, and civic leadership education for
students of all ages. The 501 (c)(3) program provides youngsters and adults who
often face medical, physical, and/or socio-economic challenges with an
opportunity to collaborate on high-impact projects and accomplish the
spectacular. To date, Portraits of Hope has involved tens of thousands of
children and adults in huge civic collaborations - in the U.S. and abroad - that
have strikingly transformed everything from airplanes, buildings, and the New
York City taxi fleet to blimps, tugboats, and NASCAR race cars.
(http://www.portraitsofhope.org/about/index.php)

"Summer of Color," Portraits of Hope`s latest initiative, is the largest public
art project in the U.S., and one of the largest civic efforts anywhere.
(http://www.portraitsofhope.org/projects/lifeguardtowers/about.php)

During the project`s programmatic phase, Portraits of Hope has involved 118
school, hospital, youth, and social service programs in civic leadership, social
issues education, and creative therapy sessions, including the Braille
Institute, Special Olympics, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitative Center,
and Program for Torture Victims, among many others. It is during the
programmatic sessions that the art panels for the towers have been hand-painted
in vivid colors and designs.

The project and exhibition has been championed by County Supervisors Zev
Yaroslavsky and Don Knabe, the Los Angeles County Fire Chief, the Los Angeles
Department of Beaches and Harbors, and the County Lifeguard Association.

Portraits of Hope initiatives are privately funded. The partnership and support
of the private sector makes it possible to involve thousands of children in the
program and to promote the project`s themes of civic leadership, environmental
initiative, and community engagement.

Key partners and pillars: Ford Motor Company, which helped the LA County
Lifeguards go green, and whose hybrid vehicles will be utilized for the
installation of the panels on the beach towers; Laird Plastics and Recycling,
the first company in its industry to recycle outdoor plastic boards; Image
Options printing and technology services; Benjamin Moore Paints, Verseidag
Seemee US, EFI Vutek, Morley Builders, Vista Paint, The Weingart Foundation,
CornerstoneOnDemand, Casa Del Mar, Adina Beverages, AAA Flag and Banner, Nazdar
Coatings, Starbucks Volunteer Services, Subversive Nature Designs, MACtac,
Hasbro Studios, and The Bachelor, among other businesses, foundations, and
individuals. (http://www.portraitsofhope.org/about/what_people_are_saying.php)

After the Exhibition: The art panels will be donated to the participating
institutions and to social service agencies around the world to beautify
interior and exterior facilities. Many of the panels will be shipped to Haiti
for transitional homes, temporary shelters, schools, hospitals, and senior
centers - similar to how thousands of Garden in Transit panels from NYC were
utilized in New Orleans after Katrina for transitional homes, school buildings,
government structures,
etc.(http://www.portraitsofhope.org/about/poh-program-facts.php)

For Portraits of Hope
Steve Ricci, 310-508-9684 or 310-951-5936
media@portraitsofhope.org

Copyright Business Wire 2010