Local, international art featured in new Barren County High gallery

Published 4:43 pm Monday, December 16, 2024

by David Horowitz

BY DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

A gallery spanning more than 4,000 square feet of meticulously displayed local and international artwork has found a home at Barren County High School.

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On Friday, the high school cut the ribbon to the new space, connected to the school auditorium. The name, “Trojan Kala Mandir,” refers to the school mascot and Sanskrit for “art temple.”

Dr. Bharat Mody, formerly a general surgeon in Glasgow for 33 years, spearheaded the gallery’s creation and contributed much of the art – pieces selected over more than 50 years, many collected traveling the world. Over the years, he and former Barren County Schools Superintendent Bo Matthews collaborated on numerous projects serving students. For this gallery, the two collaborated once again alongside numerous others – and, with a generous donation from the late Glasgow resident Nell Houchens, the project came to fruition.

“I think making this art gallery, it makes so much good for so many of the students and so many of the teachers and so many people in the community for whom it is hard to go somewhere else and look at the artwork,” Mody said. “We’re bringing the art to them.”

From paintings made of everything from watercolor to wood chips, to works of craftsmanship comprising materials from stained glass to metals, the pieces span more media than most could name. The artists span myriad backgrounds – BCHS students and alumni, professionals across the Commonwealth, those elsewhere in the U.S., and everywhere from India to New Zealand to Portugal.

Pieces across the walls are more or less permanent, while those on the floor may be swapped out, Mody said.

A gallery this expansive would appear rare to find in a public high school – let alone one in largely rural Kentucky.

“We did a little research, and we are unaware of any other galleries at a high school like this,” BCHS Principal Letitia Hughes said. “There may be some out there that we’re not aware of, but to our knowledge, this is a unique opportunity.”

Teachers can schedule visits for their classes, schools in and outside of the districts can schedule field trips, and members of the public can schedule visits by appointment via contacting the school and asking for the school arts coordinator, Hughes said.

It’s in the plans for the gallery to host art showcases for elementary, middle and high school students in the spring, Hughes said. They also want to hold events at the space, she added.

“I think it’s incredible that a school has such an art gallery – what an incredible treat for students to learn from,” said Derick B. Strode, director for regional campuses at Western Kentucky University.

Asked whether anything stood out, he replied, “I think it’s the access for young people here in rural Kentucky to be able to be exposed from art around the world.”

Added Brad High, from the Barren County Board of Education, “It feels like something that you go somewhere else to see – not come to Glasgow and see here at a public school. It’s a wonderful addition.”

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