A Brief History of
Piece by Piece

2007

The beginning of Piece by Piece

Friends and family backyard mosaic fundraiser for pilot program on April 22.

Launched Piece by Piece’s first workshop in South LA in the community room of Beyond Shelter, a permanent affordable housing development for families who have experienced homelessness.

2008

Expanding Workshops & Summer Night Lights

One of Piece by Piece’s very talented artists was selected to exhibit his mosaics at the two day Beverly Hills Art Show in May. Approximately 40,000 people attended, featuring more than 200 exhibitions from around the nation.

Provided mosaic workshops in South LA for hundreds of youth and family members through the Summer Night Lights gang reduction program, a special initiative of the Office of the Mayor with the Department of Cultural Affairs.

2012

Launching theVisiting Artists' Program

The first year Piece by Piece received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. This support was used to launch, our still active, visiting artists' program. Piece by Piece's first visiting artist was Lillian Sizemore and we are grateful to the dozens of artists who came to teach and to the NEA for their ongoing support.

2013

First Public Art ProjectVillas at Gower

First public art project: “Villas at Gower”. 3D mosaic leaves installed on five-story supportive housing building.

2014

Installing Entangled Bank & Discover a Star

“Entangled Bank” mural installed at Irvine Valley City College Life Sciences Building.

“Discover a Star” mural installed at Universal Studio’s City Walk in March.

2015

Installing Pollinator's Paradise &
Blooming Gardens

“Pollinator’s Paradise Garden Spheres” created for mosaic show at the Crescent Farm at LA County Arboretum and the "Water is Life" permanent installation at the Arboretum.

“Blooming Gardens” installation completed in October.

2016

Our Mosaics areAward Winning

“Broadway's Blooming” project was awarded Best Community Project at the Mosaic Art International Awards!

2017

InstallingSpirit of Community

“Spirit of Communtiy: Mandala Project” competed for the Legal Aid Foundation. A series of 12 mandalas from 2-ft to 14-ft.

2018

Making a splash inThe Art World

Partnership with Hauser & Wirth includes gallery tours, holiday sales events, and the ongoing sale of Piece by Piece artwork in their gift shop. They have also made charitable contributions to the program.

Participated in MOCA’s Community Day. Piece by Piece Artist and Activist June sat on a panel with Shepard Fairey to discuss challenges artists face.

2019

A piece of the puzzleSkid Row Arts Alliance

Entered the collaborative Skid Row Arts Alliance (SRAA) with neighboring arts organizations. The SRAA provides opportunities to engage in cultural and artistic activities and works closely with service providers in the area to connect the program participants to free resources in the community.

2021

So manyPublic Art Projects

“Village Well Mural” project completed. Over 20’ long mural incorporating Culver City landmarks.

“Phoenix Rising” mosaic and painted mural completed for Firestone- Phoenix Affordable Housing.

Immersive Van Gogh and Impact Museum partnership

2022

New Studio andNew Beginnings

Piece by Piece moved into a permanent studio with just under 5,000 sq feet. Of space which we have easily filled up! This space has allowed for expansion of our social enterprise, as well as more classes. This year we were able to return to in-person classes and welcomed back returning and new artists.

Piece by Piece founder Sophie Alpert had the honor of sharing the Piece by Piece story on the Kelly Clarkson Show.

2022

Get ready forNew Comissions

Piece by Piece was awarded two very competitive commissions this year. The first is with Metro to design a mosaic mural that will honor a section of the National Veterans Mural by artist and U.S. Navy veteran Peter Stewart, dedicated in 1995, a portion of which will be decommissioned during the construction of the future Westwood/VA Hospital Station. The Second is with the Trust for Public Land and the City of South Gate have commissioned Piece by Piece to work on a 50 ft mural that will be installed in early 2023.