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����vlog EIGHT NEWS AT FIVE. THE ARTIST BEHIND THIS MURAL IN DES MOINES WERE MADE TO WERE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THEIR ARTWORK WAS RECENTLY PAINTED OVER. YOU CAN SEE HERE IT’S PAINTED OVER. THE MURAL SHOWED A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, JOHN LEWIS, AND THE MESSAGE BLACK LIVES MATTER. THE MURAL HAS BEEN THERE ON SIXTH AND UNIVERSITY AVENUE SINCE 2020. ����vlog’S NICOLE TAM TALKED TO THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING TO FIND OUT WHY THEY CHOSE TO REMOVE IT. REUBEN CHATHAM IS THE ARTIST BEHIND THIS MURAL. NOW HE UNDERSTANDS THE OWNER HAD THE RIGHT TO REMOVE THE ARTWORK, BUT HE HOPES THE LOSS OF THE MURAL STARTS. A CONVERSATION OF FINDING A SPACE FOR A MORE PERMANENT DISPLAY. PART OF THE CONVERSATION IS UNDERSTANDING THAT ART GOES BEYOND JUST A VISUAL REFERENCE. IT HAS A DEEPER MEANING AND DEEPER VALUE, AND A DEEPER IMPACT. I TALKED TO THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING. SHE TELLS ME SHE RECEIVED COUNTLESS CALLS AND COMMENTS ABOUT HER DECISION TO PAINT OVER THE MURAL. SHE SAYS PEOPLE WERE TEARING UP THE SPACE, MAKING IT HARD TO MAINTAIN. HER FAMILY IS NOW TRYING TO SELL THE BUILDING, WHICH IS WHY THEY PAINTED OVER CHATHAM’S ARTWORK. THEY EXTENDED US THE GESTURE OF ALLOWING US TO USE THEIR BUILDING IN THE FIRST PLACE. SO WE ARE APPRECIATIVE AND GRATEFUL FOR THAT. IT’S JUST THAT IT IS A MARKET LOSS TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE COMMUNITY. A GROUP CALLED THIRD SPACE COORDINATED THE MURAL IN 2020. ORGANIZERS HOPE TO WORK WITH DES MOINES CITY LEADERS TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER SPACE FOR THIS TYPE OF ARTWORK. WE NEED MORE PUBLIC ART. IT IS A IT IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL, AND I HOPE THAT THAT WE CONTINUE TO SEE MURALS REFLECTING A LOT OF DIFFERENT STYLES, PEOPLE, COMMUNITIES, MESSAGES US AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE WE REALLY ALL WE NEED IT RIGHT NOW. CHATHAM’S MURAL WASN’T THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS PAINTED OVER. A SECOND ONE WAS REMOVED AND CREWS WILL BE PAINTING OVER THE THIRD AS THE