Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network works to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers. Read more about us.

2022 Grant Projects

In 2022, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance, announced the inaugural recipients of Creative Forces Community Engagement grants, with support for 26 organizations totaling $750,385 for projects beginning on or after July 1, 2022. Awards supported community-based arts programming that expanded the work of Creative Forces into more communities nationwide to address the distinct experiences, challenges, and strengths of military-connected populations through the arts. Each project included an organization with a history of creative or artistic programming and one or more partners.

Funding supported projects in two categories:

Emerging: matching grants of up to $10,000 for one-year projects

Advanced: matching grants of $10,000–$25,000 for one-year projects or up to $50,000 for two-year projects

Learn more about the 2022-2023 grantees and their projects below.

Grant project highlights

In its first year of grantmaking, Creative Forces funded a wide variety of projects across the country.

Image of a white male wearing a sports jacket playing a trumpet with his eyes closed. There is an image of an American flag and an older white man wearing a Korean Veteran hat behind him.
Dominick Farinacci in a performance of Modern Warrior LIVE. Farinacci is a co-founder of Community Engagement Grantee Modern Warrior LIVE. Photo by Jeff Forman
Side profile of a Black man facing a wall and holding a container of paint in his left hand while he paints a mural with his right hand
Brushwood Center’s At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans and the Military Community offers free programs, including nature-based painting and drawing classes, music classes, and photography workshops. Photo by Ewa Pasek Photography
Four people standing outdoors on a sunny day with trees in the background and a path through grass. Two people have cameras that are hanging from their necks. Everyone is holding up their hands and looking through a square they made with their fingers.
Participants in Josephine Herrick Project’s Odyssey photography workshop practice framing an image without a camera. Pictured (from left) are veterans Nadine Mass and Zoe Brown, Josephine Herrick Project Director Miriam Leuchter, and veteran Richard Cartagena in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, September 2022. Photo by Brendan Bannon

Grant project descriptions

Birmingham, Alabama

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Creative Arts for Birmingham Veterans

University of Alabama at Birmingham in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs-Birmingham VA Healthcare System will pilot Creative Arts for Birmingham Veterans, which includes four six-week virtual arts workshops that will serve four already-established Whole Health veteran groups through the Birmingham VA. The four workshops will explore creative and expressive writing, visual art, mindful movement, and compassionate listening with reflective visual art-making. Each group will take part in one six-week class before moving on to the next art form in the cycle. Over the course of the year, all four groups will experience four workshop offerings.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Partner Organization:
Department of Veterans Affairs — Birmingham VA Healthcare System
va.gov/birmingham-health-care
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Mesa, Arizona

Mesa Arts Center

Arts in Service

The Mesa Arts Center in partnership with Mesa United Way will present its Arts in Service (AIS) program which provides educational studio art classes free for veterans and service-members to help them achieve their personal goals. Participant goals include building a supportive community of fellow veterans, gaining new skills, reducing stress, and improving overall well-being. The ongoing program consists of eight weeks of veteran/service member-exclusive sessions that range from welding, ceramics, printmaking, painting, photography, blacksmithing, jewelry, playwriting, glass flameworking, and belly dancing. AIS sessions enable skill-building, relationship-building, and sense of achievement, all while building resiliency and achieving wellness.
Mesa Arts Center
Partner Organization:
Mesa United Way
www.mesaunitedway.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Fayetteville , Arkansas

Mount Sequoyah Center

Culinary Arts Food Experience (Café ) and Writing Novice Program

Mount Sequoyah Center in partnership with Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks will present a program that hosts a group of veterans for a culinary arts and writing residency at Mount Sequoyah. The group will learn from a chef and then be guided toward finding their culinary style. They will learn about food writing from a professional writer. Then, based on their own unique interests, some participants will workshop their own creative new recipes, while others will write about the experience of the food the group creates and their larger experience creating together. Their residency will end with a banquet dinner with an audience of veterans and community members. Participants will take the creative writing and recipes they created home following the program.
Mount Sequoyah Center
Partner Organization:
Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks
va.gov/fayetteville-arkansas-health-care
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Los Angeles, California

DIAVOLO Dance Theatre

THE VETERANS PROJECT presents S.O.S

DIAVOLO Dance Theatre in partnership with the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs at Kansas State University will develop and present THE VETERANS PROJECT, a community-engagement program with the goal of bridging the widening gap between veterans and civilians. Through movement workshops, art therapy sessions, creative writing exercises, and open discussions, DIAVOLO will foster veterans’ creative expression, increase veterans’ active arts participation, and enhance the public’s understanding of veteran experiences today. The program will culminate in a custom-choreographed evening concert piece titled S.O.S., which will feature veterans performing alongside DIAVOLO dancers.
DIAVOLO Dance Theatre
Partner Organization:
Office of Veterans Affairs at Kansas State University
www.k-state.edu/veteran/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
San Diego, California

The Old Globe Theatre

The Old Globe/Veterans Village Theatre Initiatives

The Old Globe in partnership with Veterans Village of San Diego will present The Old Globe/Veterans Village Theatre Initiatives, a series of six year-round programs for homeless veterans at Veterans Village San Diego including Community Voices, coLAB, Globe for All, Behind the Curtain, and the Veterans Technical Center Apprenticeship. In order to meet participants’ needs and goals at any stage of their recovery, each program will set different expectations for the length and depth of participant commitment. The programs will reinforce each other but are nonconsecutive and can be taken multiple times. The Old Globe/Veterans Village Theatre Initiatives will help veterans express themselves creatively, build social networks, and improve their employment outcomes.
The Old Globe Theatre
Partner Organization:
Veterans Village of San Diego
vvsd.net/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Placerville, California

Arts and Culture El Dorado

Veterans’ Voices Writing Workshop

Arts and Culture El Dorado in partnership with Veterans Memorial Building of El Dorado County Veterans Building Council, Inc. will present Veterans’ Voices Writing Workshop, a free and ongoing writing workshop that is open to all veterans, from any branch of service. It will offer a supportive environment and the tools needed for the writing of fiction and nonfiction stories, service-related or not, as well as memoir, poetry, and drama. The workshop will be facilitated by experienced, professional writers.
Arts and Culture El Dorado
Partner Organization:
El Dorado County Veterans Building Council Inc.
Grant Amount and Tier:
$5,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
San Diego, California

Resounding Joy

Semper Sound

Resounding Joy in partnership with Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs will present Semper Sound, community programming that will improve the health, well-being, and quality of life of military service members, veterans, and their families through music activities, instruction, and opportunities to perform. Semper Sound’s trauma-informed programs will be enhanced by the expertise of Board-Certified music therapists, who serve as coaches, teachers, and guides for participants.
Resounding Joy
Partner Organization:
Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs
saveourplanet.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Tampa, Florida

Straz Center

Straz Salutes

The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital will present Straz Salutes, which will provide multiple access points to the performing arts, arts learning, and art-making for active duty and veteran military, their families, and caregivers. Activities will include instruction and guidance in movement art, spoken word and poetry, theater, visual art, and more.
Straz Center
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Riverwoods, Illinois

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

At Ease: Art and nature for veterans

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods in partnership with Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center will expand the At Ease program and support the improved well-being of the military community through the combined power of art and nature. The project will deepen Brushwood Center’s engagement with the Lovell Federal Healthcare Center, while also extending services to more veterans and active duty personnel at the Naval Station Great Lake through a diverse offering of art, photography, and music classes, workshops, performances, and exhibitions.
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Partner Organization:
Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center
www.va.gov/lovell-federal-health-care-va
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Lawrence, Kansas

University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.

Modern Warriors LIVE – Engagements and performance at the University of Kansas

The University of Kansas Center for Research in partnership with the University of Kansas Graduate Military Programs, the Lt. Gen. William K. Jones Military-Affiliated Student Center, and the Lied Center will collaborate to present Modern Warrior LIVE (MWL), an immersive narrative and music experience that chronicles one veteran’s journey. Prior to the performance the partnership will host Modern Warrior Experience, a program which allows MWL artists to collaborate with local veterans, empowering them to share their story through a unique Modern Warrior format of storytelling. The MWL team of writers and artists work with each veteran to help tell the story they want to share, through their own words. Each veteran will then perform their work for family and friends.
University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.
Partner Organization:
KU Graduate Military Programs
gmp.ku.edu/
Lt. Gen. William K. Jones Military-Affiliated Student Center
masc.ku.edu/
Lied Center
www.liedcenter.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$25,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Louisville, Kentucky

Dancing Well: The Soldier Project

Dancing Well

Dancing Well: The Soldier Project, Inc. in partnership with Tapestry Folkdance Center will expand their program in order to restore the well-being of veterans and families affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and brain injury (BI) through community dance. Through live music, dance, and community, the program will uplift veterans and families in need while building social connection for people whose PTSD often leads to isolation and depression.
Dancing Well: The Soldier Project
Partner Organization:
Tapestry Folkdance Center
www.tapestryfolkdance.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Kansas City, Missouri

Operation Frontline Families

Art on the Homefront

Operation Frontline Families in partnership with artist Elsa Adams-Littleton will present Art on the Homefront, a series of stand alone painting workshops that will take place in-person and virtually. A total of 24 free workshops will take place and will support military and veteran family caregivers as well as children living in veteran homes. The program is designed to allow the participants to use art-making to connect with those living in similar situations and gain resilience through each other’s stories of hope.
Operation Frontline Families
Partner Organization:
Elsa’s Eclectic Home & Studio
elsastudio.chalkcouture.com/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Branchburg, New Jersey

Frontline Arts

Frontline Paper expanded reach: in-house weekly, offsite monthly workshops

Frontline Arts in partnership with Readjustment Counseling Services (better known as Vet Centers), Veterans Health Administration, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will expand the outreach of the Frontline Paper veteran arts program via enhanced weekly and mobile monthly papermaking sessions at both Frontline Arts in Branchburg, New Jersey, and the South Jersey Vet Center in Egg Harbor, New Jersey, as well as online. This work will kick off with a training session for new facilitators, leading to 100 in-house/virtual and 12 mobile workshops. Over the course of two years, this project will service up to 1,800 participants to create increased engagement with the veteran community and service organizations.
Frontline Arts
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
New York, New York

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem

Jazz & Creative Veterans

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem in partnership with with Brooklyn, New York-based Black Veterans for Social Justice (BVSJ) will present a series of four free concerts. Three events will take place at BVSJ’s auditorium and will include an educational component. The fourth concert will be presented outdoors at a park or other location near BVSJ as part of BVSJ’s 2023 Memorial Day celebration. All concerts will be held at physically accessible venues and will feature a jazz band led by or featuring a veteran.
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
Partner Organization:
Black Veterans for Social Justice
bvsj.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
New York, New York

DE-CRUIT

The DE-CRUIT program

DE-CRUIT, Inc. in partnership with New York City Department of Veterans’ Services will present the DE-CRUIT program, which uses theater—specifically Shakespeare—to address trauma and mental needs in veterans. DE-CRUIT is an evidence-based, veteran-led program that uses principles from classical actor training, techniques of grounding and breathing, and experiential analysis of Shakespeare’s verse to build camaraderie among the group members and to foster individual and collective healing. Participants will use the Shakespearean monologue form to construct personal trauma narratives which they will share with other veterans in the group and ultimately with the broader civilian community through a culminating performance to an invited audience.
DE-CRUIT
Partner Organization:
New York City Department of Veterans’ Services
www.nyc.gov/site/veterans/index.page
Grant Amount and Tier:
$37,885, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
New York, New York

Exit12 Dance Company

Exit12 workshops for veterans and refugees on the Intrepid

Exit12 Dance Company in partnership with the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum (Intrepid) will deliver an eight-week creative writing and choreography workshop, bringing together military veterans, their families, and Afghanistan/Iraq refugees. The participants will create poems, choreography, music, and prose over the eight weeks, focusing on sharing individual stories with one another. Exit12 and the Intrepid will publicly present the created works in a full performance on the Intrepid during Fleet Week/Memorial Day Weekend 2023.
Exit12
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
New York, New York

Josephine Herrick Project

Odyssey Project: Warriors Come Home

Over the course of two years, Josephine Herrick Project in partnership with Harlem Vet Center will present the Odyssey Project which will bring together combat veterans for two three-month participatory photography workshops and ongoing mentoring. Odyssey Project will culminate in a large-scale public exhibition and book of their artwork. The project seeks to use group-based photography workshops and peer mentorship with veterans to explore the journey home from war in a safe space with other veterans who have the same shared experience, and creates a new “unit” dedicated to engaging each other and the world around them in new ways through their camera lenses.
Josephine Herrick Project
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Cleveland, Ohio

Literary Cleveland

Veterans’ Voices

Literary Cleveland in partnership with VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System will present Veterans’ Voices, a series of free creative writing workshops to Northeast Ohio military service members and veterans. These poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction classes will provide an opportunity for participants to process their experiences, express their creativity, advance their writing skills, and build relationships with other service members. The project will culminate in the publication of an anthology of writing by participants that will be shared with the public.
Literary Cleveland
Partner Organization:
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
www.va.gov/northeast-ohio-health-care/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$7,500, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Ravenna, Ohio

Modern Warrior LIVE

The Modern Warrior Experience

Modern Warrior LIVE in partnership with Cuyahoga Community College will present an intensive eight-week Modern Warrior Experience workshop for rural veterans and four Modern Warrior LIVE performances each grant year. The project will weave first-person narration and world-class musicians and stagecraft, empowering veterans to reflect, articulate, understand, and grow from trauma.
Modern Warrior LIVE
Partner Organization:
Cuyahoga Community College
www.tri-c.edu/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Memphis, Tennessee

Tennessee Shakespeare Company

Feast of Crispian-South

Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC) in partnership with Memphis VA Medical Center will present TSC’s Military Veterans Health Program, Feast of Crispian-South, which uses Shakespeare to interactively aid Mid-South area heroes with post-deployment mental health and chemical dependency issues. This year-round residency employs specifically-trained TSC teaching artists who lead multiple-week sessions for three distinct veteran in-patient populations at the Memphis VA Medical Center.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company
Partner Organization:
Memphis V.A. Medical Center
www.va.gov/memphis-health-care/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2023
San Antonio, Texas

Bihl Haus Arts

Forward, Arts!

Bihl Haus Arts in partnership with Vet TRIIP will expand the number of Forward, Arts! classes to reach a new population of veterans. Free drawing and painting classes, as well as art supplies, will be provided with the goal of helping to ease veterans’ emotional and physical pain through arts immersion. The program will include training for new teachers and expansion of accessibility.
Bihl Haus Arts
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000 , Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Houston, Texas

Buffalo Soldiers Museum

Military Inspired Art Showcase (M.I.A.)

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in partnership with the Jung Center of Houston will present Military-Inspired ART (MIA), a program created in 2018 with the vision of bridging the connection between the arts and the military. In its fourth year, MIA is a multi-month art exhibition and programming schedule intended to leverage the power of the arts to help create stronger community connections and enable our local military service members, veterans, and their families to unleash their inner creativity. The program’s artwork and exhibits reveal the effects of war upon our nation’s heroes, provides veterans with a creative venue for expression, and promotes patriotism in a positive light.
Buffalo Soldiers Museum
Partner Organization:
The Jung Center of Houston
junghouston.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Emerging
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Alexandria, Virginia

Armed Services Arts Partnership

ASAP Community Arts Chapters

Armed Services Arts Partnership in collaboration with Virginia Stage Company will deliver evidence-based community arts programming to 700 unique veterans across four chapter communities—Hampton Roads, Virginia; Washington, DC; San Diego, California; and Indianapolis, Indiana—as well as online. The program aims to significantly and sustainably improve veterans’ social connectedness, resilience, and self-esteem through creative expression. The program will include immersive classes, introductory workshops, and frequent performances.
Armed Services Arts Partnership
Partner Organization:
Virginia Stage Company
www.vastage.org/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$50,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2024
Richmond, Virginia

Art for the Journey

Veterans Art Project

Art for the Journey in partnership with Hunter Holmes McGuire Medical Center will provide monthly art-making experiences for up to 20 veterans with service-related disabilities/PTSD at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Hospital or other appropriate community locations. These experiences will produce art created by the veterans to be taken home and exhibited in the community annually. Programs will be led by a team of artists and volunteers with the aim of creating not only beautiful art but a positive communal environment characterized by personal engagement, friendship, and well-being. Projects will include clay, memorial boxes, pour, and art-making with watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and oil pastel.
Art for the Journey
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Tacoma, Washington

Museum of Glass

Enriching the glassmaking experience for Hot Shop Heroes participants

Museum of Glass in partnership with Joint Base Lewis-McChord/Washington State Office of Veteran’s Affairs will enrich the Hot Shop Heroes experience of glassmaking by adding a sketching component for participants to draw ideas that the Hot Shop has inspired and to draw pictures of what they would like to see made into glass. These sketches will also be used to help participants in team projects where glass art is designed and produced together.
Museum of Glass
Partner Organization:
Joint Base Lewis-McChord/Washington State Department of Veteran’s Affairs
home.army.mil/lewis-mcchord/
Grant Amount and Tier:
$10,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2023
Seattle, Washington

Path with Art

Veterans Path with Art

Path with Art in partnership with The Seattle Opera will present Veterans Path with Art cohort programming for summer and fall quarters (July-December 2022), which will include multidisciplinary (e.g., visual, vocal, theater, and literature) online and in-person optional eight-week classes, two-session workshops, core classes, and art kits. Highlights include the Veterans Choir in collaboration with the Seattle Opera and a trip to the Veterans Farm in Orting, Washington, in partnership with the Vet Conservation Corps of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. The partnership’s trauma-informed, healing-centered classes are a welcoming and non-judgmental environment, offering veterans low-barrier to entry to the transformative power of the arts.
Path with Art
Partner Organization:
Grant Amount and Tier:
$25,000, Advanced
Grant Period:
2022-2023