UVALDE, Texas — A team of Texas artists and a Uvalde art gallery are honoring the school shooting victims in a creative, unique way. The Art Lab Contemporary Space with the team started Project 'Healing Uvalde' to memorialize all 21 victims of the Texas School Massacre at Robb Elementary on May 24.
Plans for Healing Uvalde began May 25, one day after the school shooting.
The team in the project's inception included Dr. George Meza, who runs the Collectors of Chicanx and Latinx Art and Allies, a Facebook group of art collectors, and Monica Maldonado with Mas Cultura in Austin.
Owner of the gallery, Uvalde native and artist Abel Ortiz told 25 News "the stories of these children and their teachers need to be told for generations to come," and that "the pain will be permanent, so these murals need to be preserved. I’m sure that pain transcends borders."
Ortiz spearheaded Project 'Healing Uvalde' and worked with Dr. Meza to start the funding effort. Monica Maldonado would later join as project manager.
Each of the artists involved is from the Texas region, and as of Saturday, the last murals of the project were started.
Ortiz normally holds art exhibits at Art Lab; however, exhibits are paused due to COVID-19.
The first mural was painted on Ortiz's wall and depicts 10-year-old Alithia Haven Ramirez by artist Juan Velasquez.
There are two team general murals and one for children, where kids can come to paint, Ortiz said.
The murals of all 21 killed can be viewed here.
