LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The inaugural Imagine 2020 Mural Festival kicks off Saturday, October 12, in Louisville, and will showcase 12 new murals painted over the past several weeks by selected artists. One of those artists is Brandon Marshall. He drove from Detroit to create the mural that celebrates the life of Elmer Lucille Allen, the first African-American chemist at Brown-Forman.

“I just felt like I learned so much about my own life by having heard her story,” the 32-year-old told Spectrum News 1.

Marshall works 10 to 12 hours a day to spray paint the two walls located at S. Jackson Street and Caldwell Street in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood, known as one of the first black-founded communities in Louisville.

Most murals represent someone from the past, but Allen was caught off guard when she learned a mural would be painted to celebrate her life and ties to the neighborhood.

“When I did find out I was totally surprised. I’m a community person, and I’m a giver, and I don’t think about myself as being important,” Allen said.

Born in 1931, Allen attended the University of Louisville when it was still segregated. When integrated, she couldn’t afford tuition so she graduated from today’s Spalding University. When she retired as a chemist, Allen turned her focus from science to the arts. Her own ceramic and fiber textile pieces inspired some of the mural’s design.

“I’m really interested in storytelling. I’m really interested in meeting people, because I think that when you meet people who have accomplished so much they are able to give you some valuable insight into the world around you,” Marshall said.

The 88-year-old’s life on display for all to see.

“And that can set a trajectory for anyone that sees this mural, to know that they can accomplish things, too, if they just dedicate themselves to learning, persevering and overcoming obstacles,” Marshall said. He added, “That they can achieve as much anyone else.”

The Imagine 2020 Mural Festival takes place Saturday, October 12, from noon till 4 p.m. at the grassy area on Hancock between Lampton Street and E. Jacob Street, directly across from the Smoketown Family Wellness Center (760 S. Hancock St.).