(photo by Bethany Firnhaber)

A once-empty superstore on Vine Street in Hollywood has been converted to fit the needs of a group of pro-active artists this week. The space, which previously housed the discount home store Big Lots, is now host to Manifest Equality, a temporary art exhibition.

Each piece of art in the make-shift gallery is loosely based on themes of equality, justice, respect, unity and love. The combination of these themes is meant to highlight and comment on civil rights issues that surround the passing of Proposition 8, which effectively banned marriage between homosexual partners in California in 2008.

The show drew from the works of more than 100 established and emerging artists, including graphic painters Ed Ruscha and Barry McGee and street artists Ron English and Shepard Fairey.

"I believe the creative community is a very powerful force," said Yosi Sergant, one of the driving forces behind the organization of the show. "The idea is that hopefully other artists see what we're doing and believe that there's a space for them to contribute to the conversation."

Sergant modeled Manifest Equality after Manifest Hope - an exhibition he had helped produce during the Democratic National Convention in Washington D.C. in support of Barack Obama's candidacy. Upon accepting and soon after resigning from a position as communications director for the National Endowment for the Arts, Sergant met up with event director Apple Via.

"Both of us were looking for that thing that we felt like was our next calling," said Via, recalling her initial chats with Sergant in D.C. last fall. "For us, being from Los Angeles, the big regret was prop 8."

But the cause of action for participating artists went beyond marital equality. The recent controversy over the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is well represented by works including those depicting soldiers holding hands and waiting in empty hotel rooms. Ron English submitted a work he calls "Rebel F*ag," a pink, oil-on-canvas representation of the confederate flag.

Local artist DeeDee Cheriel submitted a duo of tiny canvases portraying trees in love.

"What's the difference between two trees getting married, as two cats, as two people?" said Cheriel. "Love is love is love, and it shouldn't be judged."

Organizers purposefully planned for the show to coincide with Oscars weekend in an effort to capitalize on celebrity and heightened media attention. The show is open to the public through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours on Saturday night to accommodate musical performances by Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, indie rock band Sea Wolf, and singer-songwriter Sam Sparro.

Thousands of people are expected to pass through the exhibit.

"We'll continue doing this, little by little, one gallery at a time," said Sergant. "We start in Hollywood, and who knows? Salt Lake City next? I don't know, we'll see."