Photos courtesy of Ed Massey
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
El Medio Bluffs resident Ed Massey has inspired others through his artwork for three decades. Now, he is doing it through his courage. As the native Los Angeleno said in an episode of PBS’ “For The Arts” segment on July 20, 2022: “LA really is a mosaic of everyone.“
The co-creator of Portraits of Hope lost his home in the Palisades fire, but has not lost hope in the city or his fellow residents affected by the tragedy.
“Our home was located across from the Palisades High athletic field,” Massey shared with the Palisadian-Post. “On the second day of the fire [Olympic beach volleyball player] Miles Partain, a good friend of my kids and whose family also lost their home, rode by the neighborhood on his bicycle to notify others of the lost homes. He sent an emotional video to my son showing that our home and everything in and out was burned to the ground, reduced to ash. A couple days after that, a local resident sent us a couple of videos showing the status of the bluffs at different times of the fire on the first day and night. All the videos were deeply emotional and gut-wrenching.”
Founded in 1995 by Ed and his brother Bernie, Portraits of Hope is a nonprofit program aimed at conceiving and developing “one-of-a-kind motivational art projects that merge the production of dynamic public art works with creative therapy for hospitalized children and civic education for students of all ages.”
In December, POH announced it was partnering with National Park Service, National Mall and Memorial Parks for an artwork exhibition to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American Independence in 2026. The collaboration was said to feature a signature art exhibit at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
“Fortunately, our family and dog escaped the inferno,” Ed said. “Everything at the home was burned. Our house was also the idea lab for Portraits of Hope and so many projects emanated from there. We had all sorts of models and images that were burned.”
The artist intends on eventually returning to the Palisades.
“We’re safe and sound, and currently staying with family,” he added. “We’re not sure how our living arrangements will play out except for the immediate term. I will now need some temporary, small, additional work area to substitute my lost creative center. POH does have a location at the South Bay Galleria where we conduct youth and community civic sessions. Ideally, we will be Palisadians for the long haul, but like so many others who lost so much, we hope the insurance companies, FEMA, and other government agencies and programs rise to the occasion and assist our community to allow for that to happen.”
Massey explained that POH would hold special program sessions for the Palisades and Altadena communities.
“For our DC project in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, we’ll now make a special effort to include youth nationally whose communities suffered recent disasters, now including the Palisades and Altadena, of course,” he said. “As to my own personal work, I have some ideas that already have been swirling in my head.”
Regarding the future of Portraits of Hope, he said: “POH has a long history of serving communities coping with immense loss and tragedy, and now we’ll be doing special program sessions for people in our own backyard, too. The fire couldn’t burn away our ideas, future concepts or hopes—and those will move forward. I look forward to a reinvigorated Palisades and so many future POH projects. We all are dealing with a horrible situation and, hopefully, we can all rise to the challenges ahead. I believe LA will rise to the occasion, and the civic spirit and shared humanity demonstrated over the past 10 days bodes well not only for POH but for everyone in the area.”
In a newsletter, Bernie expressed regret and heartfelt sympathy to all who lost their homes, life mementos and functional communities in these wildfires.
“The images and voices don’t lie,” he wrote. “It’s been hellish and surreal. Ed and his family and dog piled in the car, and fled right away … with years of personal and professional dreams, joys, memories, effects and symbols of achievements left behind and turned to ash.”
The message stated: “The 2,000-square-foot home had an oversized footprint. It was a fun and whimsical house with lots of color inside and out. You couldn’t miss it from the street and many groups came by for walkthroughs. It served as a gathering spot for kids after a high school day.”
The newsletter touched on the fact that most people know POH from “large-scale civic, educational, creative therapy and public art initiatives”—but it also has a “long history serving suffering communities after tragic communal episodes and disasters in specialized, hands-on beautification projects … Now the widespread trauma is in our own backyard.
“As soon as the timing is right, POH will hold multiple program sessions for all those so terribly affected by the fires in the Palisades and Altadena … Particular surviving physical sites in those two communities will also receive the POH floral artwork for beautification and revitalization. The flower is a POH motif and these flowers will symbolize hope, joy, life, inspiration, rebirth and community.”
If you would like to help and support Ed and his family directly, email studio@edmassey.com.
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