Monthly Archives: December 2011

My New Year’s resolution for 2010 was to find a way of more fully integrating who I am with what I do.  I looked back upon activist work that I had been engaged since leaving the Marine Corps in 2004 and my artistic interests and essentially put an all-encompassing label on those activities.  As the child of a veteran and an artist, and as a veteran/artist myself, I founded VA and spent 2010 developing projects, enlisting the support and cooperation of veterans, artists, and activists in my community.  It was an idea that very quickly gained a lot of traction.  In 2011, Veteran Artists became fiscally sponsored under Intersection For The Arts incubator program and we received our first grant from AmVets.

The mission of Veteran Artists is to provide a gamut of artistic experiences for military veterans in order to promote therapeutic healing, practical skill-building, platforms to educate and inspire the community, and resources for reintegrating with society.  By building on existing relationships within the veteran, artist, and activist communities we are creating a network of artistic resources for veterans.

In 2011, Veteran Artists organized several workshops, field trips, performances, and other artistic opportunities for veterans.  Our staff shifted around a bit with Peter Schlange and Robin Long returning to the organization after the departure of Emily Yates as Media Director.  She’s still a veteran artist, performing her ukelele at Milk Bar on the first stop of her “World Domination Tour” December 4th.  Emily warmed people up for Make Drag, Not War 3! later that evening at Dance Mission Theater.  The sold-out crowd absolutely loved the show, the most common compliment I’ve received has been “inspiring”, and by curtain call it was clear by the looks on their faces that the veterans who participated had an unforgettable experience.

Somehow Canal+ (the major French TV and film studio) heard about Make Drag, Not War! and decided to feature the production in a documentary about emerging trends and lifestyles in San Francisco.  Of course when the queens heard this news they were very excited and each gave stellar performances.  This year’s annual benefit for Veteran Artists went very well, with audience members who have seen all three shows agreeing that MDNW3! has been the best show so far in the series.

At the show operations director Matthew Edwards announced our upcoming project “From All Enemies”.  From All Enemies is a collaborative project between Veteran Artists, Bay Area IVAW, and local artists. Dozens of mobile art placards and banners will be constructed for the purpose of defending crowds demonstrating at protests. The art pieces will form a defensive wall protecting people from the brutality of police violence that can come in the form of rubber bullets, teargas canisters, batons, and arrest. Each individual art piece will be a work unto itself, but when viewed as a whole, each placard will form a smaller element of larger murals.  Also announced was the staged reading of “The Proud”.  Veteran Artists organized Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to collaborate with playwright Aaron Loeb and Dance Brigade for “The Proud” which will debut at Dance Mission Theater in 2012.  This intense and moving play that addresses issues affecting veterans such as post-traumatic stress disorder, women in the military, and suicide.  Local veterans shared their stories with the playwright and directors, with several specific facts and quotes from their interviews being inserted or reinterpreted into the play.  More information in p.s.

The directors of Veteran Artists are proud of the progress we have made this year and are looking forward to many amazing projects on the horizon in 2012.

Happy New Year! ^_^

Stephen Funk

artistic director

P.S. Make one of your NYE resolutions to come to a FREE staged reading of “The Proud” January 7th, 8th, & 9th, 2012
Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 6pm; Monday at 4:45pm
Dance Mission Theater: 3316 24th St, SF CA 94110
415-826-4441 * www.dancemission.com