The Kentucky Museum – Upcoming Exhibits

Bob Ross had his "happy little trees," but did you know a Calloway County, Ky, native also loved trees? A veteran, art teacher, and world traveler, Ivan Wilson's watercolors are known for their many trees - including some very gloomy and spooky ones created in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Showcasing a recently acquired collection, this exhibition looks at Kentucky's basketmaking tradition through the lives and work of Beth Hester and Scott Gilbert - basketmakers from Scottsville, KY, who learned from many of the region's notable basketmakers while being inspired by their travels and dialogues with basketmakers around the world.

This exhibition invites members of Artworks, Inc. to submit 2D and 3D works for a juried showcase. Artworks is a visual arts coalition dedicated to creating a sustainable arts community in Bowling Green. Learn more about their work here.

Produced by Marilee Salvator's printmaking class, this exhibition will feature an installation of their works produced during the Fall 2024 term.

We are thrilled to welcome back the Kentucky Art Education Association's All-State Elementary and Middle School Art Show for 2025. Details will be announced soon.

The Kentucky Museum presents their annual juried art exhibit, which is truly a celebration of this region’s art. Generously sponsored by Abound Credit Union, any Kentucky resident over the age of 18 and living within 65 miles of Bowling Green was eligible to enter a piece of their original artwork created within the last two years. Monetary awards are given in ten categories as well as for Best of Show, the Purchase Award, the Student Purchase Award, the World's Greatest Studio Tour Merit Award, and the Artworks Merit Award.

Details will be announced in November/December 2024.

Rather than developing only one distinct sound, South-Central Kentucky has been a site of exchange and collaboration between and across a plurality of genres and styles, which owes its strength to the long history of diversity in the region and the traffic of talent and opportunity between the region’s hub, Bowling Green, and nearby Nashville, TN, one hour south. Produced in partnership with the Kentucky Folklife Program, this multi-year exhibition interprets and contextualizes these rich musical traditions in the region and their influence throughout America.

More information.

In collaboration with the Society for Inclusive Blacksmiths, the Kentucky Museum will host a national juried exhibition of metalworking arts that showcases the inclusivity and creativity of forge artisans. Details will be released in fall 2024.

For generations, quilters have been inspired by the natural world. Sewing Seeds showcases Kentucky quilts that showcase the beauty of flora, fauna, and mycelia while exploring their connections to agriculture, scientific use, and cultural symbolism. Did quilt makers imbue these meanings in their quilts…or was germination merely about capturing beauty? You decide.