LOS ANGELES — The work of one of LA’s most prolific mural artist, Corie Mattie aka LA Hope Dealer, can be seen throughout the LA area spreading messages of hope, and no one is more surprised at her output than Mattie herself.
“I didn’t think I was going to ever be like this artist/activist but I think that’s the category that I’ve been thrown into with LA Hope Dealer. And I love it,” Mattie said outside the Everytable outlet in Hollywood where she just completed a mural emblazoned with the words, “Together and Equal.”
Mattie is stepping into the smartphone QR realm, adding scannable codes that people can use to purchase food for others in need of a nutritious meal.
Mattie said adding a QR code is a great way to add proactivity to the messages in her art.
“For me, it was just easy to put something where it’s accessible for people to donate,” she said. “Especially for Everytable because there they are trying to fight food injustice.”
With 26 locations in the LA area, Everytable creates affordable, nutritious meals, offering healthy alternatives to fast food chains.
Orianna Walters, the Hollywood store manager, said she knows firsthand how difficult it can be to get nutritious food without breaking the bank, especially in LA’s many food deserts.
“I’m from a family of 14, so my mom would do her best to feed us as healthy as she could,” Walters explained. “But at the same time, that’s a lot of mouths to feed. So, we would be eating McDonald’s, we’d be eating Burger King, anything that was cheap and affordable for her.”
For the price of a typical fast food combo, you can get a fresh quality meal and with Everytable’s “Pay It Forward” app option, one can purchase a meal and place a handwritten voucher on the store’s message board so that someone in need can take a meal.
Walters said that partnering with Mattie was a natural for both parties.
“That message on the mural right there, it’s amazing,” she said. “You know, it’s something that brings everybody together. It just builds people up. And that’s something that we’re looking for because we’re looking to build a community. We’re looking to build a family.”
Mattie, who is often seen repainting parts of her murals when they get tagged with graffiti, said Walters has her back.
“I text her, I’m like, ‘Did the mural get tagged?” Mattie said. “We have an understanding. She looks out for my art.”
Combining smartphone QR technology with public art has only begun to be tapped and for Mattie there seems to be no end of opportunities to spread messages of positivity and hope. Mattie is currently working on a QR mural in support of Ukraine.