From singing to visual art, U.S. military veterans use creative expression to transform their lives at Path with Art, a nonprofit organization in Seattle, Washington and a 2022 Creative Forces Community Engagement grant recipient.

Creative Forces: Healing the Invisible Wounds of War was originally organized by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Museum of Health and Medicine, a division of the Defense Health Agency Research and Development Directorate. The exhibit was developed at the request of former Second Lady Karen Pence to commemorate Creative Arts Therapies Week 2020.

Explore veteran artwork and perspectives, as well as related research, on how creative arts therapies can provide a pathway to healing from wartime trauma.

Dance is a powerful form of expression and can be a tool for people dealing with trauma. Read this story about how the Exit12 Dance Company uses dance as a medium for expressing the experiences of veterans and promoting healing from the physical and emotional scars of war.