Walking the streets of Bushwick, the vibrant life-sized murals are hard to miss. Bushwick Collective Founder Joe Ficalora says they tell a story.

Colorful graffiti and paintings have been sprawled on the buildings near Troutman Street for the past 12 years as part of The Bushwick Collective.

The organization is made up of a group of artists and community members who came together to make art come to life. Ficalora curates the street art and founded the collective as a way to cope with his mother's death in 2011.

He says it all started with a block party that's become an annual tradition.

Over the years, the street art has transformed the area into an art destination - drawing in crowds of tourists who join street art walking tours.

Ficalora hopes the murals will continue spanning the neighborhood and inspiring onlookers for years to come.