Wen C.O.D. is a long-time graffiti artist from the 80s. He turned his passion into purpose by starting Boone Avenue Walls, a nonprofit that works to bring art to the streets of the Bronx. "We're about altering and changing the narrative and the landscape of our borough by just simply doing art," said C.O.D., the founder and creator of Boone Avenue Walls. He and his team target warehouse districts that are becoming more residential. They ask building owners if they can paint on their walls, then get to work. C.O.D. said building owners are usually excited about the opportunity, because without it, they would be constantly dealing with vandalism.

"When they paint it clean, they get ravaged. And so, since they are part of our culture, those who do the ravaging work with us. So there's no more of that destruction, that kind of appeal," says C.O.D. Boone Avenue Walls secures artists from all over the world to paint on the walls. Each year, it has a festival, where all the artists get together and paint. A year later, the walls are re-painted with new designs. C.O.D. said 80% of the artists are New York based and 20% are from all over the world. He loves to bring artists together and create community through shared talent. Click here to learn more about Boone Avenue Walls. It conducts walkthrough tours of the murals. Last year, 165 artists painted 60,000 square feet of murals. This year, there are plans to bring even more artists to paint 75,000 square feet. It has murals on walls in Mott Haven, Longwood and West Farms, and this year, it is adding a Hunts Point location. This year's painting festival will be on Aug. 23 and 24.