Exhibit to showcase the power of art in healing

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University will showcase the power of art in healing this month through an exhibition of The Chemo Paintings by Dorothy Uber Bryan and related activities for the community. The exhibit and events honor the legacy of the late Bowling Green philanthropist, who was committed to helping those with cancer.

In collaboration with The Victory Center, a Toledo nonprofit organization that assists cancer patients and their families, BGSU will host a community event on April 13 in conjunction with the exhibit opening. Activities will include art therapy workshops and lectures from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The “Chemo” exhibit and workshops are free and open to the public and take place in the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery Lobby, in the Fine Art Center at BGSU. Guests are also encouraged to tour the Master of Fine Arts exhibit, which will be on display in the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery.

A BGSU School of Art alumna and MFA graduate, Bryan began her art career late in life after raising her family. In 1989, after learning she had cancer, she found solace and healing through art, and painted 11 extraordinary artworks as an expression of her journey through the illness and chemotherapy. For her, the power of art was integral to her healing – emotionally, spiritually and physically.

“My mother often spoke of her wish that her paintings would not only enlighten cancer patients and their friends and family, but that they, as well, would inform physicians and medical workers to make their care and treatment of cancer patients more sensitive to their emotional, as well as physical, needs,” said her son David Bryan, a former BGSU trustee.

In the spirit of Bryan’s work, guests are invited to participate in two workshops with art therapist Bob Davis from The Victory Center. One workshop will focus on creating expressive personal banners, which will be strung together to form a wellness chain and displayed in the Fine Arts Center. The other workshop will allow guests to create journals from memories.

In addition to the art therapy workshops, Karen O’Brien, also from the Victory Center, will be speaking on using the expressive painting method for guiding people with cancer through their journey.

“Art therapy is a wonderful tool for cancer patients. Not only can it help individuals cope with issues such as grief and lifestyle changes, it also helps reduce physical symptoms such as pain, anxiety, depression and fatigue,” said Dianne Cherry, executive director of the center.

The story of how Bryan used art to express her struggle with cancer was the subject of an award-winning public television documentary by WBGU that aired nationally and will be rebroadcast on WBGU several times throughout April. Additionally, WBGU will air a feature about art and healing on April 11 with Stephen Kendall, host of “Northwest Ohio Journal.”

The Chemo Paintings exhibit will run through April 29. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Parking is in Lot N, at the Wolfe Center for the Arts, at the intersection of Ridge Street and Willard Drive. Both parking and admission are free. For more information about the event, please visit www.BGSU.edu/Chemo.

About The Victory Center

For nearly 17 years The Victory Center has been reaching out to cancer patients and their families providing love, support, compassion, hope and laughter.

Last year the center provided almost 8,000 units of free service to those in the Toledo community going through the journey of a lifetime. The center is completely privately funded, with no government money or health insurance reimbursements. To learn more about The Victory Center, visit www.TheVictoryCenter.org.

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(Posted April 04, 2013 )