Artist Jaylin Stewart pays tribute to Breonna Taylor
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Louisville, KY (WLKY) — On what would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday, local artist Jaylin Stewart paid tribute by painting a portrait of Taylor that will be seen larger than life downtown this weekend.
“Breonna Taylor has changed the face of Louisville. I feel like she has made us a stronger city, she has made us a stronger community, she’s made a stronger woman,” Stewart said.
Stewart has painted hundreds of portraits like Taylor’s, as a way to show people killed by gun violence as more than just homicide victims. She presented the painting to Taylor’s family Friday morning and said seeing their reaction was inspiring.
“I do this often. I paint pictures and I give it to their family, I honor people, that’s what I do but there was something about giving this picture to this family, their spirits were so high,” Stewart said. “It makes me happy, it makes me want to go harder. It makes me want to continue to fight and do my part with what I’m doing because I know it’s needed.”
The image will be unveiled to the public and projected onto the facade at Metro Hall starting Friday night at 9:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. The portrait is one of several projects Stewart is juggling. She’s also been working on a large chalk mural inside the KMAC museum. The mural was initially designed to show life during the COVID-19 pandemic, with three friendly African American faces behind masks, signaling “hello” with their hands. With the cries for justice for Taylor and ongoing protests, the images have even more meaning to Stewart now.
“Every time you turn on the news right now, every time you turn on media all you see is rioting, all you see is protesting,” Stewart said. “It’s just important for me to keep portraying these positive images of African Americans that we need right now to show us support, to show us love, to show us we belong in this country just like everyone else.”
While many buildings in downtown Louisville currently have their windows boarded up, KMAC has installed panels with local poet Hannah Drake’s poem “Dawn.” Drake’s words were originally written a few years ago for the Louisville Ballet, but she believes they are needed now more than ever.
“I hope when people see this they read it and listen to the words,” Drake said. “Every day is an opportunity to start something new. And I think with everything going on in the world today that’s very important.”
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