Artist Honors Volunteers That Provide Free Meals for Sick People With Giant Mural in LA [Interview]

Artist Honors Volunteers That Provide Free Meals for Sick People With Giant Mural in LA [Interview] The non-profit Project Angel Food has devoted itself to feeding people experiencing serious illness around Los Angeles. Since its creation in 1989, they’ve delivered 20 million free medically tailored meals to date, serving 7,157 clients in the last year. As a tribute to the staff and volunteers who make this possible, as well as uplifting […] READ: Artist Honors Volunteers That Provide Free Meals for Sick People With Giant Mural in LA [Interview]

Art Aug 31, 2025 0 20 Add to Reading List

Artist Honors Volunteers That Provide Free Meals for Sick People With Giant Mural in LA [Interview]

Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Project Angel Food's “Nourishing the Community” mural unveiling

The non-profit Project Angel Food has devoted itself to feeding people experiencing serious illness around Los Angeles. Since its creation in 1989, they’ve delivered 20 million free medically tailored meals to date, serving 7,157 clients in the last year. As a tribute to the staff and volunteers who make this possible, as well as uplifting those in need, Los Angeles-based artist Robert Vargas painted a three-story mural on the facade of Project Angel Food’s headquarters in Hollywood.

Vargas, who recently gained attention for his Shohei Ohtani mural in the Little Tokyo area, has depicted a different kind of LA hero this time. Titled Nourishing the Community, the mural features a matriarchal guardian in traditional Mexican attire. The figure’s hands are modeled after those of a woman selling tamales near the site—a nod to the hard labor that goes into feeding and keeping one’s family and neighbors both fed and safe. Around her, portraits of Project Angel Food collaborators spotlight the different elements that make up its mission, from the kitchen to the delivery team.

“I want the community to see themselves in the mural,” Vargas said at the unveiling. Following his artistic mission of “painting from the streets,” the muralist had a more spontaneous process, letting the surrounding environment influence his work for a true depiction of the very thing he was honoring.

“Robert brings a deep humanity to everything he does, anywhere in the world. This is a masterpiece,” says Edward James Olmos, Academy Award–nominated actor and activist, who accompanied Vargas throughout the painting process. “Project Angel Food does such important work for the community. I’ve been involved since the beginning, and people are going to flock to see this mural. They deserve this.”

We had a chance to talk to Vargas about his creative process, the people depicted on the mural, and what street art can do for an entire community. Read on for My Modern Met’s interview with Robert Vargas.

Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Project Angel Food's “Nourishing the Community” mural unveiling

How did this collaboration come to be?

This collaboration came to be, really the genesis of it, was a conversation between myself and Edward James Olmos, incredible actor, legend to all of us in the art world. I joined him at the telethon and he made an introduction and I think that Brad [Bessey, director of communications and talent relations at Project Angel Food] and Richard [Ayoub, CEO of Project Angel Food] looked me up and said, oh, I think we need to work with this person, with this artist.

Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Project Angel Food's “Nourishing the Community” mural unveiling

What inspired this composition?

So when meeting with Richard and Brad, we looked at this wall and initially I think that he maybe didn’t think that the entire wall would be possible because he couldn’t see past the giant windows. And I said, well, we’re going to create an image that’s going to be so big you won’t even notice the windows. And I had an initial feeling of what I wanted to paint. I think the story arc was really developing itself pretty quickly, but not until I went to the kitchen and saw what people are doing that I was really inspired and the spark went off.

How does your creative process look like?

My creative process is one where I just listen, I’m present. I don’t make preliminary sketches, I have conversations, I have this dialogue with the community. And I think once I inform myself with just the space and the purpose of the wall and how people are going to interact with it, not so much how visible it is, but more so how it’s going to integrate with the community. And it’s so important to create work that is considerate of the places that they live in. So it’s very site-specific, not only for Project Angel Food, but just for this Hollywood community here. So being present and then the magic always tends to walk in the door.

Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Project Angel Food's “Nourishing the Community” mural unveiling

Who are the people depicted in the mural? What are their stories?

The mural is anchored by a Mexican-American woman who is like a matriarch that we’d find here in Los Angeles, someone that we all know. You can interchange the name, but there’s a figure like that for all of us. And she’s both the matriarch, the protector, but also the one who nourishes. And then there’s four images that I selected based on volunteers and staff. And I think what I was so taken with was some of the staff had been here for so long. And I think it said a lot about their commitment to the greater good, but also the kind of organization that Project Angel Food is, that people would want to be associated with for so long. And then, of course, you add representation to that, and putting faces that speak to everybody, I think, makes the mural what it is today.

The area around downtown LA is a hub for street art, as well as the home and workplace of many immigrants. How has this area influenced your practice?

Well, I’ve lived in downtown for many years. I live, work, and play there. So I’m constantly inspired by everything around me. And very often, my surroundings find themselves onto my canvases.

Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Project Angel Food's “Nourishing the Community” mural unveiling

As an artist, what do you like about murals and large-scale works?

I think creating public artwork allows these murals to engage with the public in a way that is accessible. I think accessibility to the arts is so important. And it’s not just for the art aficionado. It’s not just on the top of a hill in Bel Air, or deep on Wilshire [Boulevard] where you need to make reservations and everything else to get there. This is work that appeals and connects with the everyday person, who maybe feels that they’re not represented in those spaces. So I get to tell their stories, and that’s why I include them in the creative process.

Photo by Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Project Angel Food's “Nourishing the Community” mural unveiling

What do you hope people will take away from this project?

Like I said earlier, I hope that people take away a feeling of pride, a feeling of belonging, and want to participate in the world by advocating for volunteer work here at Project Angel Food. We can all take action and affect change. I think the reason why I have her wearing braids is when you think about, not only culturally, but if you think of a strand of hair, it’s pretty weak. But when you bind hair together, create this braid, then it speaks to really the unity of not only in this mural, but to the community that we are all in this together, we’re stronger together.