Pahrump artist Andrew Sabori's mural of Ellis Island is hitting the road after a six-week showing at the Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.

Next stop, the Nevada Historical Society in Reno, where an official reception is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with numerous state dignitaries. The mural will be housed there for another two months, Sabori said.

The mural will then be shipped to the Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko later this year. Sabori is working on locations to display the exhibit in St. Louis, Mo., Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., New York City and Washington, D.C.

Sabori started the Ellis Island project last summer. He sees the murals as a learning tool for local youths. He recruited students from Pahrump Valley High School and the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy to help finish the work.

The inspiration for the Ellis Island mural evolved out of a visit Sabori took there six years ago to research his ancestry. It includes 19 panels that portray historical contributions of America's immigrants. It's a smaller reproduction of a painting by an artist from the New Deal era, Edward Laning, who painted "The Role of the Immigrant in the Industrial Development of America" for $25 per week as part of the Works Progress Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"I have personally financed the project out of my own pocket. After the project finishes its tour, I would like to see it at a permanent location where the public could see our country's history, including the immigrants of Ellis Island, Edward Laning's struggle during the depression and the WPA program," Sabori said.