The Department of Veterans Affairs offers many resources to its soldiers, but even veterans may be surprised to hear about the VA’s annual Creative Arts Festival.
The festival, which is both regional and national, offers veterans the opportunity to showcase their talents in the areas of visual arts, theater, music, creative writing and dance.
According to Richard Salgueiro, CEO of Western Colorado VA Health Care, the festival is much more than just a show-off opportunity.
“This festival is not just an event,” said Salgueiro. “It is a testament to the power of creative expression and the profound impact it has on the lives of our veterans.”
“This is about healing, this is about therapy, this is about being one with yourself and becoming healthy.”
According to Salgueiro, the therapeutic benefits of practicing creative arts include improving cognitive and physical skills, increasing self-esteem, promoting mindfulness, personal growth and identity discovery.
The regional festival kicked off Tuesday with a gallery open to the public through the end of the day. The gallery, featuring 144 entries from 58 veterans, is open between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and is located in Building 6 of the Western Colorado VA Main Campus.
According to Marine Corps veteran Donna Fullerton, the festival is particularly fun and relaxing because all the other participants have similar, shared experiences and perspectives.
“I’ve been involved in art and photography shows, but this just touches everything,” Fullerton said. “I love being in the veterans community. I joined the Marine Corps at 18 and was in boot camp at 19, so it just feels like home, and I forgot what that felt like.”
Fullerton has previously participated in three regional and one national festival. She said planning and producing entries keeps the brain busy throughout the year, but the festival also creates lasting relationships through the discussions among veterans about each other’s projects.
Fullerton submitted eight entries for this year’s regional festival, including flute performances, photographs and paintings. One of her photos, showing two mustangs battling for dominance at a watering hole, won this year’s VA Director’s Pick.
Fullerton said she would not have known about the program if it weren’t for Patrick Metoyer, a self-proclaimed promoter of the program who has been participating in the regional festival since its inception in 1997.
“I became an advocate and promoted this program everywhere I go,” Metoyer said. “If I find out for 10 minutes that someone is a veterinarian, I ask them, ‘Do you make art?'”
Metoyer won a bronze medal for his first entry at the national level in 1997, received six national awards for his entries, and submitted nine entries to this year’s regional festival. These are not his only accolades, as he was honored as the U.S. Army Japan Soldier of the Quarter for the quarter of October to December 1966.
He earned this honor while serving from 1965 to 1967, primarily at the 106th General Hospital. According to Metoyer, the 1,000-bed hospital was established in Yokohama, Japan, in late 1965. In early 1966, Metoyer and his unit treated soldiers evacuated from Vietnam, particularly those with burn injuries.
Metoyer said he was proud of his service, but the experience was intense and emotional. Between that time in the service and a serious illness he developed in 1994, Metoyer said he lacked the motivation to engage with art and the world around him as he once did.
The first Creative Arts Festival in Western Colorado, VA in 1998 was the catalyst that reminded Metoyer of his love for art and other people and inspired him to hone his craft and focus on his recovery.
“We do our activities, we build relationships and all of this stimulates the mind and soul,” Metoyer said. “It motivates us and keeps us going.”
Winners of the regional creative arts festival are also invited to compete at the national level later in the year. Participants in the visual arts and creative writing departments can stand in a gallery with their work and talk to passing admirers. Veterans presenting visual arts work together to perform on the final day of the national festival.
Metoyer and Fullerton said the sense of community at these festivals is as remarkable as the opportunity to showcase their work.
“When I used to exhibit, I felt like I was alone,” Fullerton said. “When I was (at these festivals), it was like a family of people.” We have similar backgrounds and experiences and with everyone walking around and talking to everyone, it’s less intimidating.”
