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TIRZ board approves two downtown mural grants; Bayless awarded $7,000 for interactive fence piece
Summary
The Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 board approved $7,000 toward an interactive ceramic-and-bead mural by Emily Bayless and separately approved $14,000 for a larger Spanish-style mural at 819 Iturbide, leaving the mural program with planning and coordination tasks for remaining sites and artists.
The Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 board in Laredo approved two separate awards for downtown murals and discussed next steps for remaining sites at its recent meeting in City Hall chambers.
The board voted to approve $7,000 from the 08/02 grant for artist Emily Bayless to complete a “fence” mural installation that combines terracotta tiles and electric-blue ceramic beads on a portion of the wall at 808 Grand Street. The board also approved $14,000 for a Spanish-style mural project at 819 Iturbide, to be funded from the board’s mural allocation.
The mural program manager, Amanda Pineda, described the payment schedule and artist approvals for current projects and noted the program’s $50,000 allocation and prior commitments. She said one project’s fee was set at $14,600 and split into three payments; one of those projects is near completion and final payment is due upon completion.
Artist Emily Bayless, whose design the board approved for the 808 Grand location, described the concept and materials and said the piece will include terracotta tiles linked by jump rings so the beads move in wind. “I have done a previous mural with ceramic applied to a wall in Downtown Laredo, and it's been up for 3 years,” Bayless said, adding she was confident in the durability and repairability of the tile-and-bead method.
Board members discussed whether to award funding for full walls or partial walls, how artists could blend adjacent murals, and which projects should wait for confirmed property-owner participation or artist acceptance. The board instructed staff to allow Bayless to return with a supplemental design and proposal if she sought funding for the remaining wall.
Votes at a glance
- 08/02 Grant (808 Grand Street): Motion to approve $7,000 for the Bayless “fence” design. Motion moved (mover not specified in the public record), seconded (second recorded as "mister Monta" and "mister Caballero" in the transcript). Chair called for voice vote; motion passed. The transcript records the motion passing with no recorded nay votes.
- 819 Iturbide: Motion to approve $14,000 for a Spanish-style mural at that location. Motion moved and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote.
Why it matters
The board is using a dedicated downtown art allocation to place murals on public and private facades as part of downtown revitalization. Approving partial awards while leaving open the option for expanded funding lets the board move an installation forward while preserving the chance to coordinate larger, blended works on long walls.
What’s next
Staff will confirm final agreements with property owners and artists, process the grants and payment schedules, and invite the city arts commission and other stakeholders to coordinate potential additional funding and public unveiling events. The board discussed tentatively coordinating an unveiling around Small Business Week events in early May if scheduling allows.
