Med Center Health hosts 34th annual Women of the Arts exhibit

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Med Center Health is hosting its 34th annual Women in the Arts exhibit, which showcases the talented women in our area while celebrating 100 years of Med Center Health.

“I think it’s really fun, especially for some of the artists that have never done this before. To showcase women in art… art was historically a man’s world. So we love being able to showcase women. Women come with very different experiences. So it’s awesome to have women from all walks of life be able to share their art in all different forms,” community wellness director Sarah Widener says.

Each year, Med Center awards a Special Purchase award, where they buy a piece of art shown in the gallery and hang it at one of their offices. This year’s recipient, Bonni Carroll, explains the meaning behind her painting “The Quiet Moments.”

“Two years ago, I was involved in a bad accident, had a brain injury, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to paint again… and in those moments when you’re going through those things, you kind of take your mind to a place like this. I wanted to paint something when someone looked at it that they could have that escape of peace for those few quiet moments,” she says.

Med Center always evaluates each piece to figure out which one will be chosen, and this year’s was because of the vibe it gives off.

“Art is very therapeutic… and sometimes we have a space in mind, sometimes we don’t. But I think her art really speaks to that relaxing, therapeutic piece that you want with artwork… especially when you’re talking about a hospital and caring for people,” Widener says.

Carroll says when she found out she’d be receiving the Purchase award, she was shocked but excited at the same time.

“There’s so many beautiful paintings and artworks here that I wasn’t expecting it, so it’s a lot. It’s really, really wonderful, so [I] thank everyone,” she says.

The cherry on top for her? This is the first time she’s shown any of her art in a public setting.

“That’s huge to me because I have never showed anything like that… and I’ve just recently after this, I have got some that’s going up in a gallery in Nashville as well. So I’m nervous, this is kind of like my break… it’s wonderful,” Carroll says.

The exhibit is open until Saturday at the WKU Health Sciences Complex building on Med Center’s campus.