Two years after her death, Breonna Taylor's life is celebrated at Louisville art gallery
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The creative forces behind the Melanin Art Series have known for two years they wanted to feature Breonna Taylor in a portrait series memorializing people who have died.
The "Missing You" show was first planned for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues kept delaying it, K.U.L.A. Gallery director Brittany Sleeth said.
But when K.U.L.A.'s one available weekend fell on the same weekend that marked two year's since Taylor's death, Sleeth knew: "It was fate."
"I realized that's just something we couldn't do on our time," she said. "It had to be done on God's time."
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Around 100 people showed up to the K.U.L.A. Gallery in downtown Louisville Saturday afternoon — one day shy of the two-year anniversary of Taylor's death — for the unveiling of a new, larger-than-life painting of the late 26-year-old.
Background on Breonna Taylor
Taylor, a Black woman and emergency room technician, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police officers after they forced their way into her apartment with a battering ram around 12:40 a.m. on March 13, 2020, with a search warrant to look for drugs and cash as part of a larger narcotics investigation.
Brett Hankison, the only officer to face charges for the shooting, was found not guilty by a jury earlier this month of wantonly endangering three of Taylor's neighbors.
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No one has been charged for Taylor's death.
Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, reminded the crowd of that fact.
"The thing is to not forget that we still ain't got justice," she said, prompting a chorus of agreement. "The real goal is to get justice."
Palmer was joined by other relatives and loved ones of Taylor, including Taylor's younger sister, Juniyah Palmer; aunt Bianca Austin; and boyfriend Kenneth Walker. Jacob Blake Sr., the father of a man paralyzed by a 2020 police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, also attended.
Artist Charles Rice incorporated more than a dozen images of Taylor into the acrylic painting: one where she's embraced by Walker, a snap with her sister, and a rendition of the same selfie that also graced the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine.
Sleeth said it was important to include Taylor in the collection because "she's an icon now."
"People all over the world are going to be celebrating Breonna Taylor on this weekend," she said. "How could we not?"
Reach Tessa Duvall at tduvall@courier-journal.com and 502-582-4059. Twitter: @TessaDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor remembered with new mural at Louisville KULA Gallery
