Home » Art students install mural in Lexington near SA/VS’ Bolivar Home

Art students install mural in Lexington near SA/VS’ Bolivar Home

LEXINGTON, Ky. — In November 2020, students in the University of Kentucky School of Art and Visual Studies’ Guerilla Art class led by Lee Ann Paynter installed an original mural near UK’s downtown campus on Emmaline Lane, just west of 236 Bolivar Street, which houses the School of Art and Visual Studies (SA/VS) and the Bolivar Art Gallery.

Students submitted design ideas to the class in mid-September of 2020, and the top three top designs (by Aaron Abbott, Emma Wagner, and Laura Warren) were shared with the building owner, Jeff B. Queen, in early October, who made the final decision to go with the design by Emma Wagner, an art studio sophomore from Louisville, Kentucky.

Wagner designed the overall mural along with Thomas Arney, a theatre senior from Radcliff, Kentucky, and Michael Lozovoy, a digital media design senior from Lexington, and installation of the nearly 200-foot long mural began in early October. Students in the class were able to create individual components of the mural in the form of “personal character designs” which integrate with the chrome balloons that spell out the words “IMAGINE NATION.”

The students would like to thank the School of Art and Visual Studies and the College of Fine Arts for supporting this project, as well mentor, Spencer Reinhard, Lexington native, and international mural artist.

The UK School of Art and Visual Studies, part of the College of Fine Arts, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studio, art history and visual studiesart educationcuratorial studies, and digital media design.