One hundred years after the mass killing of Armenians, a Chicago artist has created a monumental painting to honor the victims and celebrate a culture that nearly vanished.

The 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman troops left up to an estimated 1.5 million people dead and forced the exile of millions more, threatening a 3,000-year-old culture rich in architecture, literature, music and dance. It is widely seen as the 20th century's first genocide.

Seeking to promote awareness of the culture and the tragedy, Chicago-based artist Jackie Kazarian embarked on a painting of enormous scale, called "Project 1915," to be displayed for the first time in Chicago's Mana Contemporary from April 17 to May 29.