George Mason University's Veterans and the Arts Initiative, based at the Hylton Center, provides exciting and enriching opportunities for the military-connected community to engage with the visual and performing arts. Check out our upcoming Veterans and the Arts Initiative workshops and events and tap into your creative side!
Interested in learning how to play the guitar? Want to take your string skills to the next level? Our Veterans Virtual Guitar Workshop Series (Level I, Level II; 9/22–11/10), led by instructor Glen McCarthy, is open to new and experienced musicians. These popular classes fill up fast, so make sure to sign up in mid-July when registration opens!
On September 26, artists from In Her Image, an exhibition paying tribute to the service of women Veterans, will participate in a panel discussion in the Buchanan Partners Art Gallery. The conversation will delve into the experiences of women in the military and examine the exhibition’s representations of resilience, identity, and transformation.
In our Laser Engraved Relief Print Workshop (10/17) U.S. Air Force Veteran Patrick Sargent guides participants through the process of creating expressive relief prints inspired by self-portraits or beloved pets in a hands-on workshop introducing relief printmaking, image transfer, carving concepts, and hand-printing techniques while encouraging personal storytelling and creative exploration.
This fall, celebrate America’s 250th anniversary through screen printing and light. In our Screen-Printed Luminaries Workshop (10/24), you’ll learn how to design and print patriotic-inspired imagery onto paper luminaries that can be illuminated and displayed. Master basic screen-printing techniques with other members of the military community, while reflecting on service and national history through art.
The staged reading program In Service of Theater: A Staged Reading Program for the Military and Veteran Community (9/23–10/28) brings Veterans, Servicemembers, and adult military family members together, drawing on drama, poetry, and other narrative texts to explore themes of military life and service. Under the guidance of Rick Davis, Dean of George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and Professor of Theater, participants will learn acting techniques to build confidence before participating in a rehearsed reading shared through an intimate, public performance in the workshop’s final session.
In the workshop The Ritual of Mask Making: Play, Performance, and Self-Permission (11/4 and 11/5), Veterans and their adult family members will use art to express their personal journeys by creating masks. Led by Steven Luu, U.S. Air Force Veteran and recent George Mason MFA graduate, participants will share reflections and learn the symbolic role masks play in exploring and portraying hidden emotions.
The following special concert events are also coming up this fall, so be sure to mark your calendars!
- The U.S. Army Field Band (9/27): This internationally acclaimed ensemble celebrates America’s 250th birthday—and its own 80th anniversary—in an inspiring program spanning classical masterworks, jazz favorites, and contemporary hits. Tickets for this performance are free to the public, general admission (limit four tickets per order), and will be available at the Hylton Center Ticket Office starting August 4.
- The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own”: A Salute to Veterans! (11/6): Memorable music meets heartfelt stories in an evening honoring the dedication of Veterans who have served the American people. Tickets for this performance are free to the public, general admission (limit four tickets per order), and will be available at the Hylton Center Ticket Office starting in late summer.
- Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra: To Swing Through the Sky (11/14): The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra explores the parallel histories of two great American innovations, jazz and flight, in a multimedia performance featuring Darden Purcell, former vocalist with the U.S. Air Force Band. Limited free tickets will be available in person only at the Hylton Center Ticket Office for Veterans and Servicemembers with ID (up to two tickets each).
Don’t forget that Veterans and the Arts Initiative workshops and special concerts are FREE to Veterans, Servicemembers, military family members, and military caregivers (pending registration space and/or concert ticket availability). Learn more about the Veterans and the Arts Initiative and join in the fun!