The National Initiative for Arts & Health Across the Military: Events

Strengthening the Health and Well Being of Service Members, Veterans, their Families and Caregivers Through the Arts

A banner displaying military service members, veterans, their families and caregivers engaged in the arts.

2020 National Initiative Virtual Summit

Arts & Health Across the Military: Artfully Navigating COVID-19 to Build Connected and Inclusive Military and Veteran Healing Communities   
An Online Event hosted by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Americans for the Arts

September 16-18, 2020

Since its inception, the National Initiative for Arts & Health Across the Military (NIAHM) has convened military/civilian conversations and cross sector dialogue on strategies for collective action and promising practices that advance the arts in health and well-being for service members, Veterans, their families and caregivers.

In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak prevented a planned return of what would have been the 5th National Summit to its founding location on the campus of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In response to the pandemic, the summit planners instead convened a virtual conversation to explore arts and creative arts therapies efforts and engagements focused on meeting the challenges around COVID-19, for military-connected populations and healthcare providers on the front lines. 

Hosted by Colonel Andrew Barr, Director, WRNMMC, a series of plenaries, interactive panels and discussion sessions were held on how COVID-19 has impacted military and veteran communities, including vulnerable military-connected populations, as well as how individuals and organizations are responding through the arts in both clinical and community settings.  

Close to 300 participants from more than 275 organizations attended from throughout the U.S. and other countries.

Information and Resources:

Partners and Sponsors

Americans for the Arts is honored to co-host the National Initiative for Arts and Health Across the Military’s first virtual summit in partnership with the Arts in Health Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The virtual summit was made possible in part thanks to the generous support of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation. 

 


 

 

2017 4th National Summit: Reintegration & Resilience

The Role of Arts in Recovery, Transition & Transformation across the Military Continuum and the R&R Arts Festival: From Recovery to Regeneration
February 2 – 5, 2017
Tampa, Florida

Since its inception, the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military (NIAHM) has convened conversations among artists, arts professionals, creative arts therapists, caregivers, researchers and policy makers across the country that are designed to share best practices and promising programs, as well as provide a forum for cross sector dialogue on strategies for collective action.

The 4th National Summit: Reintegration & Resilience—The Role of Arts in Recovery, Transition, and Transformation across the Military Continuum brought together a cross-sector group of 150 leaders, practitioners and advocates who support greater access to the arts and creative arts therapies for the military and Veteran populations.

Included was a two-day Practitioner Exchange and Workshop Series providing hands-on engagement and interactive experiences linking artists, creative arts therapists, and healthcare professionals into arts practices and collaborations aiding in recovery, reintegration, resilience and regeneration for service members, Veterans and their families. 

The 2017 gathering also featured the R&R Arts Festival: From Recovery to Regeneration, a festival of original performance works by, for, about—and with—Veterans, organized and curated by Art2Action, featuring The Carpetbag Theatre, Liz Lerman, the War & Treaty, Exit 12 Dance Company, Makoto Hirano, the Combat Hippies, and more.

Information and Resources:

Partners and Sponsors

Americans for the Arts is honored to co-host the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military’s 4th National Summit: Reintegration & Resilience alongside Art2Action, Inc. and the University of South Florida(USF) College of the Arts. Additional partners include The Carpetbag Theatre and New England Foundation for the Arts.

The Summit and companion R&R Arts Festival: From Recovery to Regeneration have been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation National Grants program and The Loreen Arbus Foundation.

National Roundtable, November 2016

Info coming soon!

2015 Veterans and the Arts Congressional Briefing

November 2, 2015
Veterans and the Arts Congressional Briefing

In advance of Veterans Day and the congressional district work period, Americans for the Arts in coordination with the Congressional Arts Caucus held a congressional briefing on “Veterans and the Arts”, Monday, November 2nd from 11 am – 12:00 p.m. in Rayburn House Office Building room 2103. The briefing highlighted some of the successful and promising work being done through the VA through partnerships, such as the VA Arts, Health & Well-being Pilot Project, coordinated by Americans for the Arts in partnership with Johnson & Johnson and the VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, and in programs such as the VA National Veterans Creative Arts Festival (co-presented with the American Legion Auxiliary).  Previews of helpful resources were provided, including the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military’s National Network Directory, and the upcoming Report from the Third National Summit: Advancing Research in the Arts for Health and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum, co-sponsored by Americans for the Arts and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Panel Moderated by:

  • Nolen V. Bivens, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.) and President, Leader Six, Inc.

Presentations by:

Resources

2015 Third National Summit

Advancing Research in the Arts for Health and Well-being across the Military Continuum

Opening Reception

Thursday, February 26, 2015 
National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

NATIONAL SUMMIT

Friday, February 27, 2015
Nachter (Ruth L. Kirschstein) Auditorium at the National Institutes of Health

Closing Reception

Friday, February 27, 2015      
Bethesda Marriott Congressional Ballroom

The Third National Summit of the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military (NIAHM) is sponsored by Americans for the Arts and hosted by the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health/National Institutes of Health with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.  The Summit is a by-invitation-only event that will examine the critical research needs impacting military service members, veterans, and their families in promoting health, healing and well-being from pre-deployment, deployment to reintegration into civilian life. The program examines the current evidence base for efficacy of the arts and creative arts therapies in helping service members and veterans recover from illness and injury, with emphasis on topics of interest to military and veterans healt, including resilience, physical and psychological healing, family strengthening and reintegration, and articulated in the NIAHM Blueprint for Action and White Paper.  A report on the findings and discussions from the Summit will be published in Spring 2015.

To request information regarding the Summit contact Marete Wester ([email protected]).

Media Kit

2013 National Summit

April 10, 2013

The 2nd National Summit: Arts, Health and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum hosted by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was a by-invitation event focusing on the benefits of arts exposure, active art-making, and issues related to research, policy, and practice in arts and health across the military continuum. The summit was part of the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military, a collaborative effort to advance the arts in health, healing, and healthcare for military service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers. Over 200 leaders from the military and arts community attended to share their experience, findings, and solutions for moving forward. The results of the discussions were summarized and included as part of the findings of the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military White Paper, released in Fall, 2013.

Media Kit