Family Weekend | Syracuse Veterans Creative Arts Competition

Hosted in partnership with the Syracuse Veterans Administration Medical Center, the local creative arts competition showcases visual and performing arts, and creative writing from Veterans receiving healthcare at the Syracuse VA. Medical facilities across the VA use the creative arts to enhance the physical, social, and emotional well-being of Veterans. The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in collaboration with the American Legion Auxiliary, provides eligible Veterans an opportunity to compete in a national creative arts competition in visual arts categories ranging from oil painting to woodworking to paint-by-number kits. In addition, there are categories in writing as well as the performing arts of dance, drama, and music. Local winning entries advance to a national judging process that will be completed in December 2023, and artists awarded first place at the national level are invited to attend the 43^rd National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, which will take place in the spring of 2024 in Denver, Colorado. The festival is a celebration of the arts and artists who participate, as well as a demonstration of the therapeutic benefits of the arts.

The National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC) gallery is an interdisciplinary partnership between the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Creative Arts Therapy and the School of Design’s museum studies program as well as Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs. The NVRC gallery serves not only as a place where people visit to enjoy artwork, but a place where visitors are engaged to promote a deeper understanding of the experiences of Veterans, service members, and their families. Through public engagement in art exhibitions, the gallery promotes dialogue, public education, and community building