Upcoming Creative Arts Festival at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center
Are you a Veteran who is talented, creative, and interested in sharing your work?
The annual Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center (LAJVAMC) Creative Arts Festival is a great way to showcase your creative side, while interacting with other Veteran artists from around the area. Each year, Veterans display their works of art inside the medical center for other Veterans, staff, and visitors to enjoy, and also have a chance to compete at the national level.
Many Veterans find benefit in hobbies like writing, painting, drawing, woodworking, metalworking, blacksmithing and more. Timothy Savino, a Marine Veteran who submitted entries in last year’s festival explains that “I started doing this just to get out of my head, I’m doing this to help make me stronger.” Mr. Savino has lost many friends to suicide and wants to use his skills to keep his mind healthy, and encourage other Veterans to find their creative side in the hope that they too will see the benefits.
Veterans like Mr. Savino often use art to express their life experiences and feelings. This is exemplified in a metal self-statue Mr. Savino displayed in last year’s festival entitled “Broken Marine”, which depicts a man with his head bowed, an open chest, and a crack in his back. “I’m hoping what I’m doing will help other service members having issues dealing with life say, ‘hey man - I can do that’, and maybe it’ll take time away from their depression or whatever they’re dealing with to hopefully create a painting, metalwork, music, writing or whatever is good for them to express themselves.” When discussing his art, Mr. Savino was reminded of a quote from Jo Santiago, a wildlife biologist who presented numerous motivational presentations to area Veterans. “We all at times live in the past, which can bring us down, and we also worry about the future, and what it will bring, but we need to live in the present and enjoy every moment. That is why it is called the ‘present’, a gift from God.”
The yearly festival promotes healing of body and spirit, motivating Veterans to reach full potential, improve independence, achieve a healthier lifestyle, and enjoy a higher quality of life. VA uses creative arts as part of its Whole Health initiative as a form of rehabilitative treatment to help support Veterans overall health.
Local winners move on to the national competition, and national winners are selected from thousands of Veteran entries from VA facilities across the nation.
The 16th annual Creative Arts Festival will be held on Monday, October 23, 2023, in the main entrance lobby of the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center (LAJVAMC) in Clarksburg, from 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. Even if you don’t enter this year’s festival, we invite you to stop by and enjoy the work of local Veterans. For more information or to register, contact Michael Andrew, Respiratory Therapist, at (304)627-0103 or by email: Michael.andrew@va.gov.