Photos: Artists complete re-painting of Black Lives Matter street mural in Seattle

Artists completed the re-painting of the Black Lives Matter street mural on East Pine Street in Seattle over the weekend. The mural is now a permanent piece of the city's landscape.

The 15 artists who created the mural formed a plan with the City of Seattle's Office of Arts and Culture to preserve it after parts became faded or chipped.

They initially created the mural in June amid the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone. They painted in colorful block letters on Pine Street. One of the artists, Takiyah Ward, said city crews were actually going to etch the letters into the street.

"We're just digging into even further this message — this idea, the movement, making it really permanent. And so we're all super excited about that fact. They're going to etch the letters out in stone ... which will then allow us to layer the paint and colors in a way that makes them more permanent."

Ward uses the artist name T-Dub Customs, and painted the "T's" in Black Lives Matter. Ward and the other artists are collaborating under the Vivid Matter Collective.

A city statement says the preservation of the mural is "an acknowledgement of the cultural significance of the site in the Black Lives Matter movement."

Ward said etching the phrase into concrete is one step in a long journey the city needs to take toward racial justice.

"The etching in stone of our mural is a great look but it's also really about action, as far as, you know, policy and law. So we're hoping, we're hopeful the city can really come through in a real way with regard to proving that Black lives matter."

The below photos were taken on Friday, October 2, 2020.