At the Kentucky Museum, a new artwork is coming to life.
Local artist Alice Gatewood Waddell and WKU professor and artist Mike Nichols are collaborating on a buon fresco mural commemorating Bowling Green’s Jonesville community. Supported by a grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the mural also provides internships for three WKU students – Aisha Salifu, Cecilia Morris, and Riley O’Loane – who are working alongside Waddell and Nichols to make the vision come to life.
The subject of the mural, Jonesville, was established by freed slaves shortly after the Civil War. It became a thriving African American neighborhood, but was demolished to expand WKU in the 1960s. Today, the land is the location of Diddle Arena, Smith Stadium, Downing Student Union, and Bates Runner Hall.
“Being given the opportunity to create the image for the fresco mural has allowed me to share the story about people who once lived in a thriving community and the unfortunate transition that occurred in many Black neighborhoods like Jonesville,” shared artist Alice Gatewood Waddell, “ I hope this project will serve as a small tribute of remembrance for those who knew of its existence and an enlightening story to others who are unaware of how swiftly generations of families can be demolished without fair compensation or respect.”
