BELFAST — When Alex Evans was a young child playing with his grandmother’s camera, he never imagined his photography would one day be featured in an art exhibit.

Evans, an inventory services representative in Waldo County General Hospital’s Supply Chain department, has been a care team member since 2014 and is one of two artists whose work is being featured in a new art exhibit along the hospital walls. His work is joined by pieces by abstract multi-media artist Liz Kalloch and will be on display through August 5.

Evans’s grandmother Hazel introduced him to photography at a young age. He remembers her constantly taking photos of her gardens, or the squirrels in her backyard. Evans took a leave of absence in 2021 to travel back to his hometown of Jonesboro, Ark., to care for his grandmother, who had late-stage dementia. While there, he was reunited with the camera from his childhood, and began using it to take his own photos. After his grandmother passed in 2022, Evans used his inheritance to purchase a Canon T7I, a more advanced camera that would allow him to honor his grandmother and their shared love of photography and nature.

“The art committee is excited to be featuring a care team member in our first temporary art exhibit at Waldo,” said Ellie Willmann, who is vice president of development for Pen Bay and Waldo and oversees the Pen Bay and Wado Art Committee. “The committee found Alex’s work to be inspiring and to fit our vision of celebrating the healing power of art.”

This is not only the first temporary exhibit to be held at Waldo, but also Evans’s first exhibit as well. He has selected a series of wildlife photos that were all taken near the hospital in Belfast, noting that his favorite shooting spot is about a quarter mile away from his office. He expressed joy in being able to experience and capture wildlife in action. He hopes his exhibit helps serve as a reminder of the natural beauty that’s right outside our doors.

“Nature heals,” Evans said, adding that he hopes his exhibit helps bring a calming and healing energy indoors for patients, visitors and care team members to enjoy.

Engaging visitors through art, no matter what brings them to the hospital, is exactly what the art committee hopes these exhibits will do. “Art can provide solace when we feel sad or stressed and it can provide an opportunity to reflect in moments of celebration,” Willmann said. “Art is a visual representation of the emotional landscape we encounter every day.”

The Pen Bay and Waldo Art Committee, made of care team members from across the two hospitals, put out a call for artists in January, looking for artists with ties to Maine and New England to display their work in a series of 12-week exhibits at Pen Bay and Waldo. With a mission of welcoming visitors with art that feels comforting and engaging while integrating art and artists that celebrate the diversity, history and beauty of the Midcoast region, the committee reviewed 38 submissions and selected 29 artists to feature in rotating temporary exhibits over the next year.

The committee started showing temporary exhibits at Pen Bay last spring with a goal of creating a healing and positive environment for patients, families and care team members. Willmann said the response to these exhibits has been overwhelmingly positive, with patients, care team members and community members alike expressing gratitude and appreciation for the work on display. An Oncology patient recently shared that the art on the walls gave them something to look forward to when they came in for their weekly treatment. Another patient said the exhibits take away some of the anxiety of having to deal with medical issues while visiting the hospital.

“It’s not very often that you see a vision statement coming to life, but when I hear these stories or walk through the halls and see people engaging with the work in our exhibits, I see it happening here,” Willmann said.

Evans’s work can be seen along the main hospital corridor near the lab, and Liz Kalloch’s exhibit can be found along the halls of the Ludwig building’s first floor. To learn more about the Pen Bay and Waldo Art Committee, visit Healing Power of Art | MaineHealth.

Waldo County General Hospital

Waldo County General Hospital is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of eight local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit wcgh.org.