VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A memorial mural is planned to be painted at Rudee Loop to honor the victims of the Virginia Beach mass shooting on May 31.
The Virginia Beach Cultural Affairs Department and the Strategic Growth Areas Office are hosting artists Sean Coffey and John Muldoon of The Coffey Shop studios from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to create the mural.
“Peace Doves” will be painted from October 10 to 12 on the inner walls of The Loop at Rudee, a new community space at the Oceanfront. The space is located adjacent to 3rd Street and Atlantic Ave.
The design was submitted last spring during the open call to artists and was selected as one of the finalists chosen for the outer Rudee wall mural and a runner up to Aimee Bruce’s “Prismatic Play.”
After hearing of the tragedy, Coffey and Muldoon reached out to the City of Virginia Beach offering to donate their mural.
"Peace Doves,’ a play on origami birds and shadows, was created to show that communities can overcome anything if they work together, and to remind us all that there is light at the end of even the darkest tunnels,” said artist Sean Coffey. “I spent a lot of my childhood summers in Virginia Beach and was heartbroken seeing the recent tragedy, and would be honored to donate something in light of the event. Our thoughts and prayers are with your entire community as you endure through this struggle.”