Traveling 'Citizen-Soldier-Artist' Previews June 26-27

The traveling "Citizen-Soldier-Artist" exhibition was first previewed to the public at Mid-America Arts Alliance headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. earlier this month. It will be available for public view again June 26-27, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For a Facebook slideshow, click here.

"Citizen-Soldier-Artist," a traveling adaptation of artist-veterans' work, will be previewed at the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., Thurs., June 26 and June 27., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is 2018 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City, Mo.

The "Citizen-Soldier-Artist" exhibition features drawing, painting, print-making, photography and more by artist-veterans who are geographically located or originating in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Texas. Also featured is the poem "Welcome Home," by writer Jason Poudrier of Oklahoma.

As part of its mission, the M-AAA develops traveling exhibitions to be featured in its "ExhibitsUSA" or "NEH on the Road" touring programs. The original 2013 exhibition was presented in Michigan City, Ind., at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts' Hyndman Gallery, Michigan City., Ind. Independent scholar, archivist, and art consultant Tara Leigh Tappert curated the works presented in each effort.

According to the arts organization:

Citizen–Soldier–Artist is an exhibition exploring how veterans in the United States are using the arts to constructively process and heal from the physical and psychological wounds of war. In addition to the images, music, and poetry they produce, a grassroots network of organizations has also grown to nurture and support these artist veterans.

This show, which is in early development for a touring exhibition, offers a compelling and moving look at the person inside the uniform as they struggle to reintegrate into civilian life.

A slide show of the exhibition preview is available on the M-AAA organizational Facebook page here.