About 50 artists from Texas spent three months working together on the “Healing Uvalde Mural Project” organized by Abel Ortiz Acosta, an art teacher supported by MAS Cultura, an Austin group that supports Latino artists.
On May 24, Salvador Ramos, 18 years old and a former student of the Robb Elementarykilled 19 students and 2 teachers and injured 17 other people in a semi-automatic rifle attack that ended in his death by police.
“I started the mural project as a healing process, with the idea that art can heal. The murals had to be monumental because pain is monumental. I’ve seen the healing begin even before the project was completed,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz, founder of Art Lab, a local art space, assured that “friends and family members have a snack or a cup of coffee in front of the murals’ and that ‘other parents drive past the murals in the morning to say hello’.
“The murals give a feeling of comfort and tranquility. The murals will not forget us. These works of art will help us and generations to remember their names and faces and celebrate their lives,” he said.
The artist reported that local officials stated that this would not define the city tragedy. “I replied and said that our response to the tragedy will determine us. The murals take us on a positive path towards redefining the community, towards healing and remembrance,” he explained.
He recalled that he initially thought of a mural, but later thought it must be 21. “It has to be monumental. It should be all over the city and not just in one place. And so the idea was born,” he says.
Source: El heraldo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
