Meet the Hidden Artists of Health Sciences at This Year’s “On Our Own Time” Art Exhibit

Nearly three dozen members of the Health Sciences community are gifted artists who entered this year’s University-sponsored art exhibit, using photography, paint, sculpture and quilting as their mediums.

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Their art was featured in the National Arts Program exhibit, offered to all  UArizona  employees and family members. This year was the 10th year of the “On Our Own Time” exhibit, and the first year Phoenix employees were encouraged to submit their artwork. There were more than 100 entries from University of Arizona employees or their family members, including 32 people associated with Health Sciences, 20 of whom work in Phoenix. 

The exhibit is organized by the University’s Employee Recognition Committee, in partnership with the National Arts Program, which hosts similar employee engagement activities for organizations around the U.S. 

“We had the privilege of seeing another side of our employees.”
 Cynthia Standley, PhD

Outside of her day job as a professor in the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism for the College of Medicine - Phoenix, Cynthia Standley, PhD, is an art lover and advocate. She volunteered to oversee submissions from the Phoenix campus because she believes art brings people together.

“It raises interest in people outside of work, and it’s a good way to make new friends,” said Dr. Standley. When it came time to transport the submissions from Phoenix to Tucson to go on display, she carefully packed all 30 of them into her Jeep Wrangler and drove them there herself.

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The exhibit is also a competition. Health Sciences employees and family members walked away with eight winning art entries, which were on display in the lobby of the Bioscience Research Laboratories in Tucson for two weeks in February. A panel of judges selected the winners.

Three People’s Choice winners were selected by attendees at a reception on Feb. 15, including “Bruises Heal, Words Scar The Soul” by Hailey Koellisch, who is related to Valerie Koellisch with the department of Family & Community Medicine.

Infusing art into health and sciences is one of the exciting goals of Health Sciences. It’s a key part of the design of the Health Sciences Innovation Building in Tucson, which features the El Mirador Project. This visionary public arts program on display inside HSIB recognizes the power of art in education to nurture creativity and empathy in students and employees.

Congratulations to all entrants, including this year’s Best in Show winner "2 months later" by Ellen Cyrier, senior coordinator of undergraduate recruitment in the Office of Admissions Phoenix.

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Other Health Sciences winning entries:  

• 1st  place amateur: “Purple Irises” by Edee Cadin, family of Sean Cadin, BIO5 Institute
• 2nd place amateur: “Sacred Moon Flower” by Diana Gerardo, Immunobiology, College of Medicine - Tucson
• 3rd  place amateur: “Grasshoppers” by Jeffrey Fisher, MD, College of Medicine – Phoenix
• 2nd  place Teen: “Defined” by Winona Esher, family of Melanie Esher-Blair, Department of Telemedicine 
• 3rd  place intermediate: “Anna’s Hummingbird” by Erica Freese, Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
• Honorable Mention: “Rings Around the Courthouse Steps” by Nancy Maurer, sister of Jan Maurer, Dept. of Medicine, College of Medicine - Phoenix 
• Honorable mentions and People’s Choice winner: "Bruises Heal, Words Scar The Soul” by Hailey Koellisch, family of Valerie Koellisch, Family & Community Medicine, College of Medicine - Tucson 

Photo Gallery: On Our Own Time Exhibit Features Employees’ Art