Completed in 2021, Trees for Children is a 207-foot mural by artist Nicolas Party spanning a highly trafficked corridor leading to the Operating Department in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). The installation dramatically transformed this long and imposing hallway from a dull, overlooked thoroughfare into a mesmerizing and poetic experience. Although the project was finished in 2021, the hallway had been identified as an important area within CHLA in need of an uplifting transformation as early as 2015. After visiting the site four years later in 2019, Party dedicated much of his time at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to executing the colorful, tree-lined imagery that now contributes to a more calming experience along the busy pathway.

“It has been a privilege to consider how artwork can make a difference in the context of a children’s hospital,” Party said. “The colorful forest I painted for this long corridor will hopefully make the experience a bit more tolerable. Working on the project in such a charged environment has been challenging because artists usually work in spaces fully devoted to hosting art.”

The mission of CHLA is to “create hope and build healthier futures,” a goal RxART was committed to upholding through this project. It was made possible through the generous support of Betsee Isenberg and Tom Atencio, the Rallis Foundation, and Westfield Century City.