As a student at Donna High School, Taylor Seaver helped start a group with her teacher to make local history more accessible.

Now, as a Mexican American studies grad student at UTRGV, Seaver and her former teacher plan to show the history of the Rio Grande Valley through art. 

“I think art does a better job of illustrating history than words,” Seaver said. 

Seaver and members of her group of art and history lovers — called Nosotrxs por el Valle — started coming up with ways to tell the story of the Valley.

“When you go into a museum, you won't see our stories preserved on the walls, especially in our community” Seaver said. “A lot of academic spaces only put things out in English. We want to make sure that this is available to all different types of people and that they can see it through art."

The group is creating 12 seven-foot panels that will each be paired with an art piece to tell a Valley story.

“We want it to resonate with people that would otherwise not be in a museum,” Seaver said.

Some of the stories the panels focus on include the Pharr riots, the Starr County melon strike and the Underground Railroad through Donna.

The art panels will be placed around public places like parks and flea markets this fall.

Watch the video above for the full story.