2022 Veteran Voices: Painted Realities

Veteran Art Institute is proud to present:
VETERANS VOICES: PAINTED REALITIES

Painted Realities is an exhibit that was created during the height of the Covid – 19 lockdown by African American Veterans residing in San Francisco and Oakland, Rural Veterans in Eureka, CA., and deported veterans located in England, Mexico, Jamaica and Africa.

The artwork was facilitated by the Veterans Alley Mural Project in San Francisco.

From the words of Navy Veteran Artist: Amos Gregory

Veterans Voices : Painted realities represents another milestone in the creation of public artwork that I have been doing with my fellow veterans for over 10 years. Together, we have painted our stories upon border fences, on walls of dark alleyways, upon city streets and walls of abandoned buildings in rural towns. This artwork allows us to send our messages of understanding, transformation and peace to the rest of society.

What is now displayed in this exhibit represents the hopes, dreams, challenges of three distinct group of veterans: Rural based Veterans living in the physical outer reaches of our country, African American veterans living in the concrete world of U.S. cities, and deported veterans living in far away lands and speaking foreign languages such as in Mexico, Jamaica, Kenya and England.

These communities of veterans, of which I am a member of one, each have their own unique stories and cultures but one key bond that they share with the rest of America’s 22 million other veterans is that of the lifelong challenge with adjustment and care after military service.

From deported veterans advocating for their right to return home, to rural veterans and their struggle to find community care along the unpaved roads of their towns to African American veterans who suffer from everyday systemic racism is where the uniqueness of each community is highlighted.

What each community does share is the constant struggle for proper medical care, and having the experience military service constantly playing in our minds years after service.

Over the years of creating artwork with the community I have listened to stories of the Kosovo Genocide, artillery bombardments in Iraq, fire fights in Vietnam and so many others from the tents of homeless veterans, the homes of deported veterans living in Mexico to my very own stories which travel with me no matter where I go.

We all were American warriors, and as such, we will suffer the wounds caused by conflict in addition to the special circumstances we find ourselves in post-service.

We have learned to become the ultimate healers of ourselves. The work that we have been creating over the past 10 years is the culmination of a grassroots brainchild from within our own community. Designed by us for us. The rest of society also benefits for when we heal the society heals. We are your brothers, sisters, grandparents, the barber, the firefighter, the artist, the teacher. We represent all that America is… HOPE.