KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Artists who created a mural for late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will repair vandalism to the creation Wednesday morning.
The mural at West 43rd Street and Belleview Avenue in Westport was painted in the fall of 2020 after Ginsburg died.
The mural was vandalized when yellow paint was splashed on the image in December.
"It's a community reaction,” artist Isaac Tapia said.
Artist Rodrigo Alvarez said there were discussions on how to react to the vandalism.
"We also talked about the possibility of maybe integrating that splatter, the paint splatter that they left, and somehow integrated within our design and make it cool, like they actually helped us,” Alvarez said.
The pair expressed a concern the mural could face future vandalism but said they won’t be stopped.
"Her name will resonate. If they keep doing this, if they keep like trying to tag it up, they're not going to stop us,” Alvarez said.
In an effort to move beyond the vandalism, Tapia sees an opportunity for dialogue on opposing viewpoints of issues and people.
“That’s how this person feels, and we can't really take that voice away to make ours louder," he said.
41 Action News contacted KCPD to see if a suspect was identified in the vandalism, but a spokesperson said they’re not aware of a police report being filed by the building owner.
Tapia and Alvarez will begin to repair the vandalized mural at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Examples of Tapia’s and Alvarez’s work can be found on their website.
