Friend of the Vet Art Project: VetCAT

Greetings everyone!

Vet Art Project Chicago Co-Lead Artist Suellen Semekoski has been working to launch a collaboration and opportunity more centered on Creative Art Therapy. The VetCAT Program is facilitated by a group of credentialed professional art, dance/movement and poetry therapists who are trained as mental health counselors, visual artists, dancers, poets and writers to help service members with a wide range of mental health issues and to promote wellness practices. 
They have started programming and you can find more information at this link herehttp://apccchgo.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/vetcat-a-new-approach/

You can also register  here: 

Call 773-433-3252 or Email VetCAT@apcc-chgo.org with your name and a  phone number where you may be reached.
Please indicate:

SAIC, Sunday group (1pm to 4 pm)

-or-

APCC, Wednesday  group (6 pm to 9pm)

They have two groups/meetings times and locations. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Albany Park Community Center. 

Peace Through Art!

Call for Works: Vet Art Project Community Showcase: Intergenerational Trauma

Vet Art Project Chicago is gearing up for the November 2012 Community Showcase. Collaborating with the National Veteran Art Museum, and their third annual “IN WAR” event series, Vet Art Project Chicago is taking on this year’s IN WAR theme and conceptual lens: Intergenerational Trauma.
Traumatic events exact an enormous psychological and physical toll on survivors, and often have ramifications that must be endured for decades. This includes emotional scars, and in many cases standards of living are diminished, often never recovering to levels that existed prior to the trauma. These traumas can occur at a personal level or at a collective level, and the responses to such events are not identical. In the latter instance, there is now considerable evidence that the effects of trauma experiences are often transmitted across generations, affecting the children and grandchildren of those that were initially victimized. - Bombay 2009

Vet Art Project Chicago Showcases are an opportunity for veterans, family members, and artists from all disciplines to come together and share their story. This can happen through visual arts, theater, dance, poetry, spoken word, or any combination of media.  We are looking to exhibit two-dimensional and three dimensional work as space permits, as well as performances in either dance, music, song, spoken media or theater. In spite of the conceptual framework parameters, all work submitted will be considered for inclusion in the showcase.
If you are interested in participating in the November Showcase please contact Edgar Gonzalez at vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com  or call (815) 683-8278 with a short statement explaining either the performance, or submission, or an image file of the artwork you would like to exhibit along with dimensions, and any sort of specific requests. We will try our best to accommodate your work if it is selected to be shown at the showcase. 

Theater Production: A Piece of My Heart

At Vet Art Project Chicago, we try to keep an ear to the ground for interesting events and theater productions relating to experiences of veterans and of going to war. Chicago Park District's Hale Park Field House has a press release for their upcoming production of "A Piece of My Heart" by Shirley Lauro.
____________________________________________________________________

The true stories of six courageous women sent to Vietnam and their struggle to make sense of a war that irrevocably changed them and a nation that shunned them. A work with the music and soul of a tumultuous era in our history.

The living memorial for stage, which debuted in New York in 1991, not only commemorates veterans of the Vietnam War, but it especially focuses on its quietest heroes -- the women who served there. Based on firsthand accounts of nurses, Red Cross workers and entertainers who volunteer

 ed to enter those distant jungles in the 1960s, the show has been praised by critics as “heart-wrenching,” “cathartic” and “a work with the music and soul of a tumultuous era.”

This kaleidoscope from Vietnam is not always reverential. It is, however, always real. A Piece of My Heart is a tumultuous look at the late ’60s, but also looks at the heartwarming comradarieof the group, with the nurses laughingly sharing memories of the escapism of drinking, drugs, lovemaking and delectable Coca-Cola from home.

Less delectable are the flashbacks of first days in surgery, their "baptism by fire" indoctrination into the hell that was a medical unit in Vietnam. The all too serious moments are lightened with songs from the period which help tell the tale of these unsung heroes.The indelible music of the 1960s is so essential to this show that it is often interspersed with lines. Everything in Lauro’s memorial – music, dialogue and monologues – are straight from the record books and record albums, and that, the cast says, makes this production special. These are actual accounts.

CAST
Meg Collins
Deborah McLaughlin
Michelle Ho
Dionne Hawkins
Jenny Hogan
Felicia Faizer
Michael J. Murphy

The production is directed by Lauren J. Polenske.

A PIECE OF MY HEART will be presented Thurs-Sat. evenings September 27th - 28th & 29th, 2012 at the Hale Park Fieldhouse, 6258 W. 62nd Street, Chicago, IL 60638. Tickets are just $8.00 for Adults and $4.00 for students & Seniors. Seating is limited and reservations are suggested. To reserve tickets, call Hale park @(773) 229-1032. Tickets will be held @ the Box Office until 15 mins. before curtain.

***A PIECE OF MY HEART contains MATURE LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT MATTER. Younger and more sensitive patrons are strongly cautioned.

Collaboration and networking is abound! Vet Art Project & Friends of the Vet Art Project

After a meeting with representatives of various Veteran Art Groups, and other organizations which could be grouped with the Warrior Arts Movement I have an array of upcoming events happening from now well into July.


Vet Art Project Chicago will be hosting a Community Showcase at the Chicago Cultural Center on July 25, 2012. We are looking for artwork from all manner of different disciplines, visual arts, writing, theater, music & dance relating to or about military experiences. The artwork can be made by veterans or non-veterans. Please contact vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com for details.

Friends of the Vet Art Project are hosting a series of workshops.
Warrior Arts Studio is hosting a Women’s Group,
The Knitting Basics:
Over the next few weeks instructor Alexis will teach us how to "cast on", knit hats, scarfs and more. All skill levels are encouraged to come. There is no cost to participate and supplies will be provided!

When:
7:00-9:00pm
Tuesday April 24th
Tuesday May 1st
Tuesday May 8th
Tuesday May15th

Where:
Warrior Arts Studio @ Fulton Street Collective
2000 West Fulton St
Chicago IL
(Northwest corner of Damen and Fulton intersection. The building is on the corner with a red door)

To RSVP or for more info contact:
jessa@warriorartsstudio.com
773.301.5366

Instructor Alexis Gabay started knitting four years ago, since then she has been selling her creations at local shops and teaching her friends and family the art of knitting.

and you can follow this link here for informationhttps://www.facebook.com/events/348991508492590/

From our friends at the National Veterans Art Museum, there is a new installation which will open May 26. Details will be forthcoming.
the National Veteran Art Museum will also screen the movies "On the Bridge", a film which seeks to break down the stereotypes and stigmas of PTSD in April, and “Where Soldiers Come From” a documentary about a group of National Guard Soldiers from Michigan who get called to active duty during the month of May. The screening will take place at the National Veterans Art Museum on the 3rd floor of 1801 S. Indiana. April 26 & 28 May 3 & 5. You can contact the museum for more information at info@nvam.org or calling 312-326-0270.

Another wonderful event which is happening at the Lincoln Park Campus of DePaul is “Speak Peace.”
Speak Peace: American Voices Respond to Vietnamese Children’s Paintings features original poems written by American children, veterans, and established poets in response to Vietnamese children’s paintings on peace and war collected over the last 10 years by the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. A collaborative, international project between Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center and School of Art Galleries, and Soldiers’ Heart, a veterans’ return and healing organization, Speak Peace will tour nationally from September 2010 to September 2013.
Showcasing the visions of Vietnamese children and the power of poetry to promote healing and reconciliation, Speak Peace offers a timely testament to the emotional truth of war and peace.

The Opening is May 7 at the Student Center room 301A from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
Please contact vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com, care of Suellen for more information.

There are a multitude of events which you can participate in during May centered around the issues of Veterans and their loved ones. I will keep you posted about more events as the information becomes available.

Big Things Coming Up!

Greetings everybody! I apologize for the protracted radio silence. Life has happened, but we have still been working on several events and collaborations with various other organizations. I promise I will have the events posted soon.
I will however remind you of the next coming Vet Art Project Showcase at the Chicago Cultural Center, July 25.

Steppenwolf Theater & LiveWire

Greetings everyone,
Stepenwolf Theater & LiveWire are teaming up in a fundraiser to help produce a comedic play about a soldier's homecoming gone awry, "Oohrah!" by Bekah Brunsetter. They are trying to raise $8000 to help finance the production, pay for design materials, artist stipends, and additional expenses needed to bring the production to Chicago.
I have enclosed a link to their fundraising efforts on indiegoogo
http://www.indiegogo.com/LiveWires-Road-to-Steppenwolf
LiveWire & Steppenwolf are graciously donating a portion of their proceeds to Vet Art Project, so I am asking that you help contribute to the fundraiser for this wonderful production.

Vet Art Project Chicago Community Showcase November 16, 2011

I wanted to thank everyone who came out to the Showcase last week. You were the reason the November Vet Art Project Chicago Community Showcase was so successful. A special thank you goes to Mr. Leon Triplett, Brikena Boci, Anne Coppola, Erin Mooney, John Klimzak, Emily Moravec, and John Zajac for sharing their talents and artwork with us.I would also like to thank Krista Damico and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for making it all possible.

September 11 -Remembrance & Kite Making

Greetings everyone!
Vet Art Project Chicago will be having a workshop September 21, 2011 at the Chicago Cultural Center, in the 4th floor Conference Room.
The first workshop is a reactionary art making workshop commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We will spend some time reflecting on what the attacks did to our daily lives, how we have spent the last ten years, and what we are doing to honor the memory of those lost in the attacks and the responses afterward. Materials will be provided, however participants are welcome to bring their own. The workshop will begin at 6:30pm, with some time for sharing and reflection at 7:20pm and conclude around 7:50pm. The workshop, discussion and sharing will be lead by Co-Lead Artist of the Vet Art Project, Teaching Artist and Veteran, Edgar Gonzalez.
The second workshop is a collaboration with the Emergency USA. They are hosting a fundraiser for the troops and families of OEF/Afghanistan in October. In preparation for their fundraiser, we will be building kites. Once again, materials will be provided, however participants can bring things to decorate their kites as well. This workshop will begin at 8:00pm and conclude at 9:30pm. The workshop will be lead by Brooke Caldwell.
You can RSVP for this workshop series here.
You can also RSVP at vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com or by calling 708-704-7313.
This event is Co-Sponsored and Supported by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

As always, this is free and open to the public.

An Apology and Event and an Announcement

Greetings everybody.
First and foremost I would like to apologize. I am of the opinion that I could be doing so much better with this blog for Vet Art Project in Chicago, but sometimes life just gets the best of me. I strive to keep our readership abreast to the latest developments as to events from and by the Vet Art Project Chicago, as well as friends of the Vet Art Project like the National Veteran Art Museum.
Sometimes the programing is not locked down until mayhaps a little bit last minute, and I would like to consistently give you the most correct information possible as I believe it is better to be accurate than timely when the two concepts are competing. So for the weird timing and update schedule, I am sorry. I am working to do better with this.
That said, I would like to bring attention to the most upcoming workshop at Truman College:
Witnessing! I had enclosed this in the prior post, but I wager it is good to remind people every once in a while.
Lastly, I would like to welcome aboard Daniel Buckman. He was a Ranger with the 82nd Airborne and now an acclaimed author. I will very likely return to this post making corrections and adding appropriate titles. Mr. Buckman will be leading a writing workshop weekly engaging the veteran community at Harry S. Truman College. The details for the event will be forthcoming, but I promise to get them up and to you as soon as possible.

Witnessing Workshop at Truman College!

Hi Everyone!
I'm going to be hosting a "Witnessing" Workshop/Discussion at Harry S. Truman College on the north side of Chicago. We'll be discussing some useful guides for witnessing a Veteran's story, and why witnessing is a far more active engagement than listening, or hearing. I'll have a pacjet of information for participants which will serve as an outline for the program, as well as a short art making activity in which we can put the skills we learn to use.

Workshop will be Thursday September 8 from 4:00PM to 6:00PM at 1145 W. Wilson St. off the Wilson Red Line Stop for you CTA Commuters. The workshop will be near the Office of Veteran Services room 1627 at the Student Activities Center.

Please register in advance by emailing or calling the
Vet Art Project or the Truman College Director of Veterans Services

Vet Art Project Chicago
vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com
708-704-7313

Adam Navarro-Lowery
anavarro-lowery@ccc.edu
773-907-6812

Drop-ins always welcome! Free Parking is also available

Vet Art Project teams up with Atomic Sketch!

Vet Art Project and Atomic Sketch are teaming up for a Community Exposition at the Chicago Cultural Center on July 20th, 2011.
We will be exhibiting work produced by the Vet Art Project as well as have participating Atomic Sketch artists making artwork on location! We will also have some performing artists showing work that evening as well.
Featured Atomic Sketch Artists include
John Airo
Scott Fricke
Michelle Mashon
Paul Wisniewski
Won Kim

Vet Art Project Exhibiting works include
Margo MacFarland
Frederick Beaulieux
Edgar Gonzalez-Baeza
Peyton Keller

We will also include guest speakers and performers
Umi Issa performing "Performance Love/Performance Peace - OneLove"
Adam Navarro-Lowery
Matt Ping
Edgar Gonzalez-Baeza

The showcase begins at 7:00pm in the Garland Room on the First Floor of the Chicago Cultural center.
You can RSVP at Vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com, or at the Vet Art Project Facebook page

Crash Course in Poetry Workshops at Truman College

Thursday July 20, Vet Art Project Chicago will be hosting a Crash Course in Poetry Writing workshop at Harry S Truman College Student Activities Center in Collaboration with the Veteran Services Office. There will be two workshops, One at 1:00pm to 2:30pm, the second from 3:00 to 4:30pm. Co-Lead Artist of the Vet Art Project Chicago, Edgar Gonzalez will be discussing poetry writing, and help participants get started in their own writing. We'll be looking at different poetry styles as well as different styles of performance poetry.
These workshops are free and open to the public.
The full information and details are below

Crash Course in Poetry Writing
Harry S. Truman College
1145 W Wilson Ave.
Student Activities Center
1:00-2:30pm
3:00-4:30pm

Materials will be provided

Please register in advance by emailing or calling the Vet Art Project or the Truman College Director of Veterans Services

Vet Art Project Chicago
vetartprojectchicago[at]gmail[dot]com
seven zero eight seven zero four seven three one three

Adam Navarro-Lowery
anavarro-lowery[at]ccc[dot]edu
seven seven three nine zero seven six eight one two

Free Parking is available and drop ins are welcome!

New Programing!

Vet Art Project Chicago has been fostering a partnership with Harry S. Truman College of the Chicago City Colleges. There will be a workshop nest week Thursday, July 14 at 1:00pm to 2:30pm, and again ay 3:00pm to 4:30pm. Edgar Gonzalez will be leading a Crash Course in Poetry Writing. You will hear a few poems as well as receive some prompts whihc will help you write some of your own poems.
Join us at the Student Activities Center at Harry S. Truman College
1145 W Wilson Avenue, Chicago.
Materials will be provided, and as with other Vet Art Project Programing, it is free and open to all participants.
If you would like, you can always share a late lunch.early dinner with the program's presenter, Edgar Gonzalez. You can find more details at the Vet Art Projects's Facebook page.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Vet Art Project at Truman College

Vet Art Project will be hosting workshops at Truman College, something which we hope will be a more frequent occurrence. Details are below!

“Surrealist Art Making & Reflection”
Using the paranoiac critical method as established by Salvador Dali participants will draw inspiration from bleach-stained papers and express their own experiences. They will have an opportunity to discuss what they drew and why they think those images came about. This workshop is open to all veterans, friends, and family members of veterans. All materials for the workshop will be provided
Facilitated by: Edgar Gonzalez-Baeza, Veteran & Teaching Artist

Thursday, June 9, 2011
11:00AM-12:00 PM
2:00-3:00 PM
5:00-6:00 PM

Harry S Truman College
1145 W Wilson Ave, Chicago
Student Activities Center
Office of Veterans Services rm. 1627, 1st Floor

Please register in advance by emailing or calling the Vet Art Project or the Truman College Director of Veterans Services

Vet Art Project Chicago
vetartprojectchicago[at]gmail[dot]com
Seven Zero Eight Seven Zero Four Seven Three One Three

Adam Navarro-Lowery
anavarro-lowery[at]ccc[dot]edu
Seven Seven Three Nine Zero Seven Six Eight One Two

Drop-ins always welcome! Free Parking is also available

The Vet Art Project creates opportunities for veterans and family members to work in collaboration with artists from all disciplines to create new art about war and service for personal transformation and occasional public performance and viewing. The program aims to support our veterans and family members, create stronger voices among our veterans, provide new opportunities for artists, offer a venue to hear the voices of our veterans and artists, and foster discussions about how war affects us all.

Details on Facebook at Vet Art Project Chicago

A New Partnership

The Vet Art Project in Chicago has started taking new steps toward making the Vet Art Project workshops more accessible to veterans throughout the city of Chicago. In an effort to promote this outreach and present military veterans and friends of veterans, I have recently reached out to an old friend of the Vet Art Project who is now working at Harry S. Truman College. To be more specific, they invited the Vet Art Project to Truman College. With this exciting new partnership, Vet Art Project Co-Lead Artist, and Army Veteran Edgar Gonzalez will be hosting three workshops at Truman College in order to provide people the opportunity to talk, make art, and experience a little bit of what the Vet Art Project accomplishes.
These workshops will be held in June, details will be forthcoming. This is an exciting new step in reaching out to student veterans.

Friends of Vet Art Project: Power of Breath Workshop

The Power Breath Workshop for veterans, offered as a service by Project Welcome Home Troops (pwht.org) and the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center.

The workshop is free and open to all veterans (It does not involve research) Because of space constraints, we can only have 15 to 20 participants so interested participants should reserve their space right away if you are interested. Please also see the following website

www.pwht.org

Research indicates that this workshop significantly

- reduces anxiety

- reduces PTSD

- improves sleep and sleep quality

- improves memory

- improves well-being and relaxation


Workshop Dates:
June 7-12th, 6:30pm-9:30pm on the weeknights, 10am-2pm on the weekend days.

Attendance Requirements:
Participants can commit to coming either for the first two days or for the full session (to get the full benefit).

Registration
The workshop is free and open to all veterans. Because of space constraints, we can only have 15 to 20 participants so participants should reserve a space right away if they are interested. To register, please email Emma at seppala[at]wisc[dot]edu or call (six five zero) eight six two- six nine seven two.

What participants are saying:

OIF marine veteran:
Battlesight Zero or BZO's are the sight setting that allows a shooter, while they're wearing all of their gear, to hit a target between 0-300m. But I can relate breathing to a BZO. Sights can get thrown off by jarring them, by elevation changes, atmospheric pressure changes, changes to the gear that the shooter is wearing, etc. It's good to take the time and confirm one's BZO from time to time to get you back on target. Breathing is like taking 25 minutes a day to re-establish my zero. Things change to some degree every day in my life. When I do my breathing it lets me calm down enough to assess my person and maybe relieves just a little bit of those otherwise influential factors. OIF army veteran I feel more calm and relaxed. I haven't had a negative dream, or one that has woken me in the night. I feel more hopeful, energetic. Breathing somehow seems easier. I feel that I am able to control my emotions a little better and that when I am stressed out that I can calm myself down easier than before the workshop. My overall outlook on the world and life is more positive. OEF army veteran This has allowed me to get sleep in a way that I haven't been able to get in a very long time. I've started to be able to look at parts of my past objectively instead of emotionally


Vietnam veteran

I wish I had taken this workshop 40 years ago.

For an article on the Center & experiences of past participants, see the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/93829999.html

For questions or to register, contact:

Emma Seppala, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Center for Investigating Healthy Minds
Waisman Center for Brain Imaging and Behavior
University of Wisconsin-Madison

http://investigatinghealthyminds.org/

Friends of Vet Art Project: Call for Veteran Artists!

ED TICK WILL BE A FEATURED PRESENTER AT THE

2011 VETERAN'S FOR PEACE NATIONAL CONVENTION

AUGUST 3-7, 2011 IN PORTLAND, OREGON

HE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN HIM THERE!


Vet Art Project is happy to pass along this

CALL FOR VETERAN ARTIST SUBMISSIONS

FROM THE VFP PLANNING TEAM

CALL for Veteran Artists: Exhibit August 2011

Portland State University ● Littman Gallery ● dsheavfp72[at]gmail[dot]com Exhibit will coincide with 2011 VFP National Convention Theme: Resilience, Resistance and Nonviolent Revolution

Recognizing the talent and contributions of our veterans

We are inviting Veterans to submit Art in any media on Veterans, War & Peace …

Art in any media means drawings, paintings, photography, prints, sculpture, video, installation and it can be any style. All work will be for sale, work accepted for the exhibit will be on display for the month of August. If your work is accepted, we hope you will be willing donate work to VFP to continue our mission working for peace and helping veterans? If not donating, the gallery will take a 30% commission, an additional 10% of the sale will go to VFP; 60% will go to the artist. All artists will be responsible for round trip shipping and if local to pick up art at the end of exhibit. Art will be on exhibit at the Portland State University’s Littman Gallery.

Art should try and incorporate conference theme and examine aspects of a personal experience to include early combat, anti-war protests, GI Resistance, PTSD, diplomacy, events and activities during any war. Thematic issues can include social, political, cultural, economic, and international dimensions of the war for all sides involved, activities in the US and elsewhere in support of, or in opposition to the war, postwar issues.

We encourage any veteran interested in submitting his or her art to fill our Entry Form and include a one page paragraph with artist’s statement and bio with your name, service, email, and snail mail address, with the title of the art work, media, size (dimensions width & height) and sale price. Please submit a JPEG digital photo file no larger than 300 KB (size digital image for 5 x 7 no larger than 8 x 10) of your work via dsheavfp72[at]gmail[dot]com - Have a consistent way of labeling files. i.e.: dshea_01

The deadline for submitting work is June 1st 2011. We will review all submissions and thereafter let you know by June 30th whether your work was accepted – we have limited space and expect a large number of submissions. Those works not accepted for show will be put on a digital slideshow for all to see during the convention with your permission. For information about the VFP Convention please visit

www.veteransforpeace.org

Thank you, we look forward to you joining us for the convention and exhibit. More information will be forthcoming after selections for exhibit are completed.

Peace
Dan Shea
Veterans for Peace
five zero three.seven five zero.seven six four nine

An uplifting story from the Huffington Post

There was a recent story which was rather inspiring on the Huffington Post. This was brought to our attention by a friend of the Vet Art Project through facebook. I now present the story to you in this link

Showcase Coming Up: Renewal

this coming March 16, the vet art Project will be hosting a showcase of artworks in various states of completion, as well as the multiple contributions and works created through the Vet Art Project workshops in the past few months. The showcase will begin at 7:00pm at the Chicago Cultural Center/Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Building at 78 E Washington St.
We will be featuring contributions by Vet Art Project Artist, Jeanine Hill-Soldner. we will also be showing the resulting animations from the January Workshop "60 Drawings in 60 Minutes" led by Chicago Artist and teacher Jake Myers. There will also be on display the works from participants in the December and February drawing workshops led respectively by Suellen Semekoski & Edgar Gonzalez-Baeza.

for more information or to RSVP you can contact us at vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com

Vet Art Project Workshop: Dance Sculpture, and Animation!

We are hosting a workshop this coming Wednesday, January 19th at the Chicago Cultural Center. We a Dance Sculpture Workshop led by Gail Adduci, Choreographer Dance Instructor and Vet Art Project Co-Lead Artist, and an animation workshop by Chicago Artist and Teacher John Jacob Myers. Both workshops promise great opportunities and interesting conversations.
The Workshops will begin at 6:30pm in the Garland Room of the Chicago Cultural Center.
The Cultural Center is at 78 E. Washington Ave.

If you are interested, you may RSVP at vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com or call (708) 704-7313.