Art Exhibition Honoring Health Care Workers Installed in Chandler Hospital
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 25, 2022) — Ohio contemporary glass artist Terri Albanese has teamed up with Ohio and Kentucky hospitals to give back to the essential health care workers who have given so selflessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. “A Garden of Gratitude — Thanking Our Wounded Healers and Healing Our Communities” is the first exhibition of its kind to tour hospitals and recognize the courage of our wounded healers. The exhibition opened in the Chapel Gallery at the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital on July 20, 2022, after the initial opening in Columbus, Ohio, this past March.
“A Garden of Gratitude” features 17 original glass paintings of vibrant flowers that symbolize the heart and spirit of the hospital workers. These works will honor the gifts they have shared with us all — resilience, inner strength, hope, courage, compassion and dedication.
“This is more than an exhibition,” Albanese said. “This is a thank you to those who chose to be on the front lines in our hospitals while we were safe within our homes; to those who were away from their families while we were caring for ours; to those who held the hands of our loved ones when we could not.”
Albanese is a passionate and spirited professional artist who recognizes the connection between art and healing — and when combined with gratitude, the reward grows. She creates glass paintings to awaken emotions within us, emotions that inspire hope and bring healing — especially during times of uncertainty.
“This is an invitation for us to all stop for a moment and take a breath — and recognize that these health care workers are still in the midst of fire,” Albanese said. “Because of the powerful impact health care workers have had on our communities, we have made it possible for people to go to www.AGardenofGratitude.com to share their stories and honor those who have touched our lives during the pandemic.”
This exhibition opened on March 16, 2022, at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and travels to University Hospitals-Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio, University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, and will end in April 2023 at McLaren St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee, Ohio. The exhibition, which will be on display through the end of the year, is free to the public. Please call first to confirm COVID-19 visitor policies.
The Chapel Gallery is located on the ground floor of the atrium in Pavilion A of Chandler Hospital, directly across from the chapel.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.