Graffiti News

A school mural photograph prompted a memorial

Carla Roque began painting a memorial to Mia Leah Mejia at Barton Park in Anaheim, California, on September 17, 2026. According to the Los Angeles Times report published on September 27, the mural artist and illustrator proposed the project after learning that Mia had died by suicide in March 2025, aged 13.

A photograph gave Roque a personal connection to the family’s story. On social media, she saw Mia standing beside a mural she had painted at Barton Elementary School. Roque then asked the Anaheim City Council for help contacting the family to discuss a memorial. An existing neighborhood artwork became the starting point for another work, this time built around remembrance.

The project marked September’s Suicide Prevention Month, with support from Anaheim City Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava and Anaheim Community Services. Roque described its purpose as encouraging kindness, compassion and connection, while telling young people that their lives matter. That intention is visible both in the portrait and in the practical information painted alongside it.

A portrait carries a public message of support

The mural places Mia’s portrait among purple poppies and butterflies, with one butterfly resting on her shoulder. Purple lettering against a bright teal background expresses the idea that each person’s presence makes the world better. Beneath that message, a separate line directs viewers to call or text 988 for support in the United States.

Those elements give the wall two connected functions. The portrait remembers a particular person, while the lettering addresses anyone passing through the park. For people following public art, the relationship between image and text is worth looking at: a memorial can hold a family’s memories and also communicate something useful to a wider audience.

Mia’s parents, Gustavo and Veronica Mejia, remembered their daughter as caring, intelligent and empathetic. She played trombone in her school band and trained at ERA Gymnastics in Anaheim. She hoped to join the University of California, Los Angeles gymnastics team. These details give substance to the life behind the painted face without reducing that life to the circumstances of her death.

Family and friends helped make the image

Mia’s mother and friends took part in painting the mural, making participation part of the memorial itself. The Los Angeles Times described Veronica working on her daughter’s cheekbones on Friday afternoon, adding contrasting color to build depth in the portrait. As she painted, she recalled Mia doing her makeup, both while playing and before parties.

On Saturday morning, 15 of Mia’s friends gathered to paint part of the wall. Some wore T-shirts bearing her likeness. Family and friends supported one another with hugs as they worked. The account shows a process shaped by people who knew Mia, alongside the artist who designed the composition.

Roque has painted public art murals throughout Orange County and described painting as her way of contributing to the community. Veronica said the project offered her some hope. That is a family member’s account of her own experience; it does not establish that a mural can resolve grief. The project’s significance lies in the specific opportunity it gave relatives and friends to remember Mia together and share a message with their neighbors.

The wall faces South Agate Street

The reported location is the side of a bathroom building at Barton Park facing South Agate Street. That orientation is the clearest detail for finding the artwork. The source does not provide park opening hours or a viewing schedule, so visitors should check park information before planning a trip.

At the wall, look at how the portrait, flowers and butterflies relate to the larger field of color, then read the support information below the main message. The site also deserves the consideration given to a memorial: allow space for other visitors and be mindful when photographing people nearby.

Using an everyday park building gives this work a setting within neighborhood life. Someone can encounter its message while passing through the park, without having set out to visit an exhibition. That placement is an important part of how the artwork communicates. Explore other murals through the Wallscape map.

Source: Los Angeles Times

If you need crisis support in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.