Across the country, Department of Veterans Affairs facilities incorporate creative arts into their therapy programs to help Veterans recover from and cope with physical and emotional disabilities. The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival is an annual celebration of the progress and recovery made through that therapy and is a way to recognize the creative achievements of our nation’s Veterans. The competition begins at a local level, where Veterans enrolled in VA health care facilities submit work in visual arts categories ranging from oil painting to leatherwork, as well as categories in the performing arts and creative writing. First, second, and third place entries are awarded for each category, and the competition culminates in a national exhibition featuring selected gold medal winners. A selection of the participants from the Syracuse VA Medical Center are displayed at the Everson.
