11:00am | An art exhibit will be held in downtown Long Beach this weekend with the intention of stopping gang violence and leading youth toward better life choices, when the Violence Prevention Art Exhibit is displayed on Saturday night from 4:00-9:30pm at Centro CHA headquarters at 727 Pine Avenue.
The event is free and will feature light refreshments and music from a DJ, but the star of the show is the artwork, portraying the dangers and ills of a violent lifestyle. The artists will be on hand to speak to parents and kids in attendance and provide advice on how to avoid gang life. And they should know. All five artists are former gang members.
They call themselves the Messengers of Peace, and together, the five artists have over 100 years of combined experience of gang intervention and counseling. Long removed from their lives of crime, the Messengers of Peace now host this traveling art show and speak to attendees about leading a positive life.
“We’re so dedicated to what we do, we wanted to get our message out in other ways,” said Danny Flores, one of the artists. “We thought, let’s get it on canvas and take it on the road.”
The show has been all around Southern California, from Whittier to East Los Angeles and Oxnard to Montebello. The City of Norwalk presented the Messengers of Peace with a certificate of appreciation when they held a show there.
“We really weren’t expecting that,” Flores says of the certificate. “We do what we do because it’s important, not for awards.”
They’ll do what they do in Long Beach this weekend, a place that Flores is no stranger to. A longtime member of the Health Department, he held many positions that allowed him to spread the anti-gang word and is now a case manager in the Homeless Services division. Flores has also been active as a youth advocate in Long Beach, holding youth art exhibits each May at Picture This custom framing near the airport. He’s eager to bring the traveling show to the city that he’s worked in for decades.
“It brings people together,” says Flores. “And something positive always comes out of it.”