The Kentucky Museum – Upcoming Exhibits

Did you know Bowling Green has a huge fine art collection? The Kentucky Museum is home to over 1,000 works of art spanning five centuries of history. In Treasures of the Collection, we showcase 27 of these works from Flemish artist Adriaen Brouwer's The Prize (c. 1630-38) to Harlan Hubbard's Wellsburg, Kentucky, on the Ohio River (late 20th century). Along the way, discover religious scenes, famous portrait artists, one of Bowling Green's own female botanists, the first artist recognized for the use of x-ray technology, and the pioneers of pop art. 

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 heterogeneity 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.

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Musicians and artists have a symbiotic relationship - relying on one another to inspire and promote their works. At times, they are one and the same: musicians create visual works to promote their sounds, or visual artists become inspired to create sound from being involved in the promotion of other musicians' works. What kinds of visual art promote music? What do these works say about the music - its sound, producers, and culture? Featuring regional posters, flyers, drawings, zines, murals, and photography, we dive into the art of our Sonic Landscape.

How do you learn to quilt? For many, quilt-making begins at home: learning from mothers and grandmothers who pass on this decorative and utilitarian art form. Quilts tell the story of Kentucky families, many of whom have called the region home for generations. Inherited Threads showcases seventeen such families, whose members created quilts now in our permanent collection. They include stories of grandmothers, mothers, daughters, aunts, and sisters - relationships that trasncend time to showcase how quilting is taught and remembered among families, how quilters from different generations exhibit similarities or differences, and how these quilts become beloved family heirlooms.