By David Lozano
For The Parthenon
A native West Virginia artist unveiled plans at the Visual Arts Center for a large-scale mural on Smith Hall designed to evoke emotion in each student who passes it.
“I hope that they feel a sense of joy,” Nichole Westfall said. “Something exciting in their lives — just a little surprise every day.”
Westfall, the 2024 West Virginia Governor’s Artist of the Year, presented three proposed designs during a meet-and-greet hosted by the Marshall School of Art and Design Tuesday, Feb. 24.
The mural will be installed on the west face of Evelyn Holbrook Smith Music Hall, facing the IDEA District. The project is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Attendees were invited to scan a QR code and rank the three designs as part of the public comment process, which follows an earlier survey gathering feedback about what themes the mural should emphasize, including joy, inclusion and symbols meaningful to the Marshall community.
According to event organizers, the completed mural is intended to reflect innovation, creativity and shared opportunity, reinforcing the university’s evolving identity and its deep connection to the community.
Westfall said Marshall’s own story and the meaning of the Marshall for All inititave have been on her mind.
“I was inspired by the history of Marshall and just the thought of Marshall For All and so thinking about the diversity of students and also having a place where people can let their creativity just grow, and they can grow together,” Westfall said.
Each proposed design draws from a color palette inspired by Benjamin Moore’s paint company 1960 collection, a nod to the period when Marshall achieved university status in 1961. The muted greens, golds and complementary tones reflect both institutional history and the evolution of the campus.
One of the designs melds Smith Hall’s windows into layered lines that resemble an “M” and “U,” while also referencing the Memorial Fountain and incorporating lace accents inspired by early Marshall College benefactor Salina Hite Mason.
Another design uses a woven composition influenced by West Virginia craft traditions. It includes symbols representing academic pillars such as medicine, aviation and music and avoids a central focal point to suggest equal importance across disciplines.
The third proposal includes columns from Morrow Library alongside botanical elements, such as goldenrod and clematis, to symbolize resilience and growth. Potato plants are depicted, referencing a Depression-era period when students reportedly paid tuition with potatoes.
Mark Zanter, the director of the School of Art and Design, said discussions about adding significant public art to campus have been ongoing for years.
“I’ve been involved in conversation about public art on campus at least for maybe 20 years,” Zanter said. “When you visit somewhere where there’s great public art, how it inspires you — and I think that’s what we’re looking to do with this piece.”
Zanter said the three designs reflect themes that emerged from community input and that organizers are comfortable with any of the options being selected.
“We’re really comfortable with any of the three designs being chosen by the public,” he said.
The mural will not be painted directly onto brick. Instead, it will be created on mural fabric and mounted to aluminum panels attached to a support structure. Zanter said the project currently has approximately $45,000 in funding and will provide hands-on experience for students interested in mural production.
“This will give the students an opportunity to have the experience of working with the materials that muralists use,” Zanter said.
Westfall said she is looking forward to working alongside Marshall students during the creation process.
“I’m so excited … I cannot believe the facilities that Marshall has, and the staff and faculty have been incredible,” she said, “so I’m just excited to spend time with the students.”
Among those attending the event was Ryan Ayers, Marshall Football player majoring in digital marketing.
“I saw the word mural on a series of Marshall Student pages on Instagram, so it piqued my interest,” Ayers said.
Ayers said he believes the finished work will make campus feel “more lively,” noting the bold colors and strong use of Marshall green across the proposed designs.
“A lot of what these designs incorporate involve stuff from Marshall’s upbringing,” he said. “They tie together Marshall as a whole.”
Ayers said the event also introduced him to the university’s art gallery, which he had not previously visited.
“I didn’t know we had a whole art gallery,” he said. “This is a place that I would definitely come again.”
Westfall said she hopes the mural becomes something students engage with regularly rather than pass without noticing.
“I think that public art should foster curiosity in anyone that comes in contact with it,” she said. “You’re trying to have people expand their ideas and what they think of the world and how they move around it.”
Read more from The Parthenon, here.