CLEVELAND, Miss. — Delta State University’s Fielding Wright Art Center will host a reception Thursday, January 25 from 5 – 7 p.m. to mark the opening of EVAC – Experiencing Veterans & Artists Collaboration. EVAC is an art project that brought together veterans and artists to illustrate the veterans’ struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges caused by their combat experiences.
The exhibit will be on view in the gallery from January 18 to February 15, 2024. The project is supported in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in the state of Mississippi.
Dr. Michaela Merryday, director of the Fielding Wright Art Center Gallery said, “We are always looking for exhibitions that are relevant beyond the art community and have the potential to spark a dialogue on current issues such as mental health care for veterans.”
For this project, the organizers interviewed veterans from all branches of the military and with a service history that dates from WWII to more recent conflicts such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. They then matched the veterans with artists who created a limited edition of prints that interpret the veterans’ experiences. The prints will be displayed side-by-side with excerpts from the interviews which will provide a context for the images and insight into the veteran’s experiences.
For more information about the Fielding-Wright Art Center and the DSU Art Department, visit www.deltastate.edu/art/.
