LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Protests in Louisville have been filled with chants, signs and emotion as people demand justice for Breonna Taylor. During the protests, after some overnight looting incidents, business owners in downtown Louisville put up plywood to protect their property.
During the month of October, local artists have been creating works of art on these blank boards for a program called "Tearing Down the Walls." Artists collaborated with business owners to curate murals on the plywood, many of which represent the events that have taken place in Louisville over the last several months.
"For me, they represent all the things they have felt and experienced while protesting," said Tawana Bain, the founder of the Global Economic Diversity Development Initiative (GEDDI), one of the organizations behind the project.
The murals will be available to view through Oct. 31 at different locations throughout Louisville including the Omni Hotel, Encore on 4 and the Louisville Visitors Center.
Bain said the murals are meant to be more than just something to look at - she hopes they will spark conversations and help bring the city together.
"Loving your neighbor, understanding your neighbor's culture - being comfortable with your neighbor really does matter," she said.
The plywood boards will be taken down at the end of the month and Bain hopes the people of Louisville will break down their own walls and work toward unity.
"I think the important conversation is how do we start tearing down these walls and start fostering more cross-race collaboration, more dialogue," she said.
The murals will be auctioned off online and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to local organizations including GEDDI, the Creatives of Color Collective and The Black Complex, a new co-working space in the city.
Bidding will close at midnight on Oct. 29 and pieces start at $75. The items up for auction are available to view on the GEDDI website.
The "Tearing Down the Walls" program is also supported by Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI) and Fund for the Arts.
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