An Art Project honoring the La Yarda neighborhood will be installed in 2025 on the Lawrence Loop at the intersection of 8th and Delaware.

Javy Ortiz has been selected to create the art project. He is currently in the interview and sketching phase of the project and plans to begin creating the art in the winter of 2025. Javy says he enjoys biking on the Loop regularly.

Javy Ortiz is a Mexican-born interdisciplinary artist residing in Lawrence. As a self-taught artist, Javy works to expand his knowledge and craftsmanship while embracing an experimental approach to creating. He pulls inspiration from personal experiences, as well as pop culture and contemporary social issues. Mixing and layering mediums such as acrylics, spray paint, and epoxy resin, Javy creates compositions that explore identity and resemble the path we navigate through our daily lives. Javy’s work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions regionally and can be found in many private collections. His work can be seen on the east side of La Estrella Mexicana restaurant at 23rd and Ridge Court.

“I am very excited and honored to work on this project for La Yarda. With this installation, I hope to celebrate the families of La Yarda by presenting visual depictions of daily life, and providing the city and all users of the Loop with a work of art that they can all enjoy.” —Javy Ortiz

The public art project is made possible through support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant program and the Douglas County Cultural Heritage Grant program in partnerships with LiveWell Douglas County; the City of Lawrence Department of Parks, Recreation, Arts and Culture; the Watkins Museum of History; and the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association.