Memorial Hall (University of Kentucky)

[3] The building's construction was funded by donations and individual contributions over a ten-year period through a subscription to the university, beginning in 1919.

[3] Completed in 1929 as a memorial to those who died in World War I, it is used for lectures and performances, and also serves as a site for graduation ceremonies of some colleges within the university.

After graduating from the University of Kentucky, the director of the UK Art Department invited her back to create a fresco mural.

This takes a tremendous amount of confidence, speed, and patience because the plaster mix dries quickly and only can be applied in increments.

[6] The lobby of Memorial Hall features a forty-foot fresco completed in 1934 by Lexington artist Ann Rice O'Hanlon.

The fresco, which is one of the few of its size and scale in the United States, depicts the history of Lexington and central Kentucky from settler times through the 19th century.

Due to these protests, UK commissioned Karyn Olivier to create a new painting in Memorial Hall to add context to the already existing mural.

It’s against that imperfect and human backdrop that I am directing our facilities team to immediately begin the process of removing the mural in Memorial Hall.

O'Hanlon's mural depicts that Kentucky was built on the backs of slaves, and Olivier wanted to honor black and brown Kentuckians by creating Witness.

Her painting can be found on the dome ceiling inside the building where the, "work would create a new context and new lens through which to view, critique and wrestle with O'Hanlon's mural.