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Emotional new art exhibition focuses on people directly affected by the King Soopers shooting

Ross Taylor was working from his Denver home on the afternoon of March 22, 2021, when he heard reports of a shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Oh, no, not again,’ ” said Taylor, an assistant professor of journalism at University of Colorado Boulder. “But unfortunately these shootings have become such a commonplace event that it didn’t register on a deeper level until we started seeing the numbers and gravity of the situation.”

The violent tragedy didn’t just claim the lives of 10 people — shoppers, store employees and a police officer — at the chain’s Table Mesa location. It also shattered families and countless others with a trauma that’s still rippling.

“What I’ve consistently found with trauma is that documenting the process provides an opportunity for people with unrecognized or disenfranchised grief,” said Taylor, a veteran photojournalist who has worked in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Haiti and other conflict zones. “It allows a space for people to come together and see and hear themselves. Sharing stories can promote healing and understanding.”

The initial results of Taylor’s ambitious project will debut on Saturday, Feb 19, with the “Boulder Strong: Still Strong” photo exhibition at Museum of Boulder. Taylor will also talk about the creation of the exhibit on Feb. 28, while a meditation session in conjunction with the show is planned for March 12.

The portrait exhibition, which features about 70 original photos taken by Taylor and runs through April 10, is the culmination of months of work — and partnerships with a surprising variety of institutions, from nonprofits to the Boulder Police Department.

“It’s (the police department’s) support that allowed us to expand this, and Museum of Boulder’s (support) that’s giving this legitimacy,” said Taylor, who set up voluntary, drop-in portrait sessions for four weeks at a police station. He also credited museum executive director Lori A. Preston and Chelsea Pennington Hahn, curator of collections, with essential resources and space.

The overall Boulder Strong Project is still growing, Taylor said, pointing to the digital archive at boulderstrongproject.com (which goes live Friday, Feb. 18). In addition to that, anyone is invited to contribute to the museum’s historical collections for the tragedy — including kids (who tend to process grief differently; see growingupboulder.org for help).

Subjects included in Taylor’s show are diverse but deeply relevant, according to Museum of Boulder: the police officer who shot the suspect, as well as other first responders; a cellist who played for days at the memorial site; people who witnessed and survived the shooting, such as the assistant manager of King Soopers No. 33; an inmate who raised money for families of the victims; and Sasha, a canine companion.

It’s arguably the largest project of its kind in Colorado, and a poignant look at the pain and resilience among Boulder residents and families of those who died. Pieces collected from the memorial fence at King Soopers and other sites will also be on display, officials there said.

Taylor, a documentary filmmaker who co-created the excellent “The Hardest Day” in 2019 (about the human-animal connection and the pain of putting down beloved pets), had witnessed Boulderites’ pain and helplessness as he photographed that same memorial wall in Boulder the week after the shooting.

“There’s this one person I photographed (for the portrait show) who wasn’t in the news at all,” he said. “They were in the store during the shooting and (at his session) wore their clothing from that day for the first time since it had happened. It was an honor to photograph them because I know how hard it was. As you get more intimate, you start seeing the real, hidden costs of this from real people. And there are so many.”

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