Tavern wall mural’s goal: ‘Inspire hope’
Artists to honor lives lost in Oregon District mass shooting.
The wall of an Oregon District bar near the epicenter of the Aug. 4 mass shooting will be transformed to inspire the community and honor the lives lost.
Zack Sliver — a local musician who, like many, had friends in the Oregon District the morning of the shooting that left 10 dead and more than 40 others injured — said a GoFundMe campaign generated $6,200 for the mural project. The mural will be painted on the patio wall of Blind Bob’s Bar at 430 E. Fifth St.
“We wanted to honor those that we lost while rallying around the people who supported the community,” he said. “We created a concept to inspire hope.”
Sliver said he hopes to present the design proposal to Dayton’s Landmarks Commission in March.
“We are going to be doing the mural in May,” he said. “It (the design) is going to be a surprise. We are trying to unveil it as we are painting.”
The public will be invited to watch the project take shape.
Bellbrook resident Connor Betts shot and killed nine — Derrick Fudge, Lois Oglesby, Saeed Saleh, Logan Turner, Nicholas Cumer,
Thomas McNichols, Beatrice Warren-Curtis, Monica Brickhouse and his sister Megan Betts — near Blind Bob’s just after 1 a.m. on Aug. 4.
Sliver said the mural’s design, the result of a collaboration between Dayton artists Atalie Gagnet and Tiffany Clark, will not include images of the victims themselves.
“We are keeping the design under wraps, but I can tell you that people will love it,” Sliver said. “They did a phenomenal job, and I am honored to have worked with these artists.”