Med Center Health hosts 32nd Women in the Arts Exhibit
Published 6:00 am Saturday, May 4, 2024
- Med Center Health opened its 32nd Women in the Arts Exhibit on Thursday featuring paintings, photography, sculptures, ceramics, works on paper and fiber works from nearly 100 of Kentucky’s female artists.
Part of The Medical Center WKU Health Sciences Complex became an art gallery Thursday night, as the Women in the Arts Exhibit returned for its 32nd year.
Sarah Widener, director of health and wellness for MCH, said the gallery allows female artists to have a unique opportunity to show their work.
“I think women often take a backseat (with) our hobbies and put taking care of ourselves on hold,” Widener said. “So for them to be able to showcase their talents and their works, it’s awesome.”
The show started with a private reception Thursday night, with the gallery open to the public Friday and Saturday.
Widener said the exhibit has a short run because the space is used “for everything from new employee orientation to CPR class.”
Six categories were available for entries to the gallery – painting, sculpture, ceramics, works on paper, fiber works and photography. This year’s exhibit featured nearly 100 pieces.
The winning entry was a painting from Kim Soule, a Bowling Green resident who worked as an art teacher for 20 years in Warren County schools and seven years in Tennessee before retiring in 2018.
Soule’s painting is an “acrylic pour,” something she said she learned after retiring. Pieces are created by mixing acrylic paints in a container and then pouring them over a canvas.
The $350 piece titled “Ocean Bloom” was purchased by Med Center Health and will hang inside The Medical Center at Bowling Green.
Soule said she has entered a piece each year for the past 20 years, with her win Thursday being her first since the early 2000s. She said the win was a “surprise.”
“It’s been years since I’ve won a merit award or got a purchase award,” she said. “I just enjoy showing my work and I love looking at what other people do.”
She said the Women in the Arts Exhibit “means a lot.”
“It gives you an opportunity to show your work,” Soule said. “The fact that The Medical Center is willing to provide a space and invite people in to view it, you just don’t get that opportunity a lot. And for them to have awards too, that’s the cherry on top.”
