My Experience at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum
A few members of the local Ohio chapter of the USNA Alumni Association came to visit! It was wonderful to see you, and I truly appreciate the support.
Every so often, we have experiences that disrupt our routines and touch us in a way that commands we stop and think about it. I just returned home from opening weekend at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, and feel it absolutely necessary pause and reflect on the weekend, before the demands of the every day command my attention again.
The Museum: An Empathetic Voice to Every Story,
(as a visitor)
Before I share my artistic sentiments, it is necessary to reflect on the museum itself. I got to spend about two hours just soaking in their permanent displays, and left with such a full heart. I felt connected to the emotions so many others have also felt at every stage of the journey.
On a deeply personal note: I walked out feeling like I belonged in that space. I left with a feeling like my service was valued, even though my active duty time didn’t involve anything someone would make a movie about. Even though I did not serve for a full 20 years.
It is a museum of human stories- and every story is told with such empathy. I left with new questions I wanted to ask Vietnam vets, and with more questions I wished I had asked my grandfather. I got to listen to mothers tell stories saying goodbye. Veterans just sharing. Some were sad. Some were sweet. Some inconceivable, others so relatable. Stories of downtime and stories of transformation. To have my work share a space like this for the next few months is such an honor, but right now, as a person, I’m just so full from experiencing the museum in its entirety. (Even the volunteers stopped to ask about my service, and share theirs in return).
The museum inspires dialogue from the moment you walk in. It does not feel like a museum about “them,” rather, it is a space about all of us, bringing the collective experiences of veterans into intimate light and challenging the viewers to engage in meaningful conversation with one another, whether or not you are a veteran yourself.
In short, I left with so many reflections, and I can’t wait to go back. I can tell it is one of those places that will stir up new thoughts with every visit.
I highly encourage you to see what the National Veterans Memorial and Museum has to offer, consider supporting through annual membership, and maybe schedule a visit if you find yourself close to Columbus, OH any time soon.
How it Felt to Exhibit at NVMM
I was visiting to celebrate the opening of “A Midshipmans Journey,” a series of 20 paintings on loan at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum from the Naval Academy museum. The paintings are a curated selection of the entire Easel on Stribling body of work, selected specifically for exploring the transformation from plebe to officer at USNA.
As far as the exhibit goes, this was a complete dream come true. It was truly a collaboration of hearts. The thoughtful and brilliant museum staff team was so careful to continue the conversation about empathy and story.
We spent a lot of time thinking about who this was for and what the viewer would be thinking. For example, there's a quite a bit of Naval Academy jargon in the writing, and so they added in a clever “vocab” wall to make the verbiage accessible to anybody who would visit.
One of my favorite moments was peering down into the space for the first time from the main floor. The exhibit is in the innermost ring of a building made of concentric circles. The way the art sat in the space created a cozy and intimate environment. (I also went bananas over the wall vinyl.)
About 20-30 people had arrived early to the opening, and the hum of their conversation echoed onto the main deck I was entering from. It blew me away to see so many people show up, to hear what I had to say, and to see the work. I’ll never forget that moment. It brought me back to dark, anxious nights in 2018 when I began painting in my spare bedroom after the kids went to bed, hoping that maybe one day these would be seen by someone other than me.
It has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I've had as an artist thus far to see my work in a space created with so much care and intention by the team. It felt like a serendipitous moment of synergy to collaborate with another entity who is inspired by the same things: Story, empathy, and creating community over this shared experience.
Getting to work together to deepen this story in a way that we could only do alongside one another has been an unforgettable experience. This series of paintings has grown legs far beyond what I ever could have hoped for it, and before life pulled me away from the moment, I had to record my thoughts for you to read :)
PS. We aren’t done yet! I will be travelling back up in July to teach some “paint and sip” as well as family style art workshops. If you are planning to be in or near Columbus Ohio the weekend of July 28, 2023, I hope to see you there!!
Meagan was my primary point of contact for the two years leading up to the exhibition. It was a treasure to meet her in person!
This was Sam and Meagan’s idea. It’s brilliant!!
This moment absolutely took my breath away!
One of my favorite USNA dads came to visit! Karl from www.mykidthemid.com
Can’t wait to go back in July
I would be remiss to not put in a plug for you to consider membership to the museum. An annual membership has some wonderful perks, but it also helps bring new programs and exhibits to deepen the conversation.
