AUSTIN, Texas — Two Austin artists will travel to their hometown of Uvalde to paint a mural for the community that is grieving the 21 lives lost in a tragic elementary school shooting.
Kimie Flores has painted several murals in Austin and is also a tattoo artist. Flores and her cousin, Jay Ybarra, who's a photographer in Austin, both attended Robb Elementary as kids. The school is now known as the place where 19 students and two teachers were killed in a shooting.
"I was one of those kids at one point. Like, I was walking through those halls," Flores recalled of her time in elementary school. "It really was like a little safe place, you know? And now, like, there's all this attention for the most tragic thing, and it just hurts my heart."
With a heavy heart, Flores will do what she loves most, which is paint a mural for the people of Uvalde.
"I am saddened that this is the reason why I am coming back, but I also want to be there for, like, my family, my friends that lost their loved ones," Flores said.
Using art as a way to heal, Flores said she wants to bring some light to those who are mourning.
"I chose to go with animals instead, with a mother and her children just because I felt like they would still be able to relate to that, like a parent with their child," Flores said.
The idea came from Monica Maldonado, the founder of MAS Cultura in Austin. It's a nonprofit organization centered around bringing art and music into underserved neighborhoods and also with working with emerging Latino artists and underrepresented Latino initiatives.
"I think just from feeling helpless and the desperation, I was like, 'Well, you know we can do something and I can help organize for us to go to Uvalde,'" Maldonado said. "Kimie immediately was like, 'Well, of course, I want to go back to my hometown and dedicate a mural to Uvalde.'"
Maldonado said they plan to unveil the mural on Sunday.
"This is a true gift to Uvalde, that they have a space to come to where they can honor and remember their loved ones that were lost through this tragedy," Maldonado said. "There is a big need in Uvalde and we cannot forget them."
Flores doesn't want her hometown to be forgotten. She wants to express her love through art.
"I think giving them this piece of art is a way to, like, help them just heal," Flores said.
A GoFundMe page was created by Maldonado to raise funds for the murals. They have exceeded their goal and now they have a new goal with the hope to paint 21 portraits in Uvalde honoring the victims of the shooting.
They have raised more than $10,000 and Maldonado said the extra funds will also go toward mental health resources for the community.
For more information on the GoFundMe efforts, click here. For information on MAS Cultura, click here.
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