Celebrating Performing Arts
July 24, 2021 | 11am – 4pm
Schedule of Events
Overview
11am: ARTISTperformance with Matthew Gill singing at the entrance stage
11:30am: ARTISTtalk with Ted Berkowitz (painter) on the entrance stage
Noon: ARTISTperformance with Sarah E. Moore doing a Dance Movement Experiential on the entrance stage
1pm: Featured ARTISTtalk with Leigh Cortez in the Theater Stage. Reserve your ticket here.
2pm: ARTISTperformance with R. Cortez doing poetry readings on the entrance stage
2:30pm: ARTISTtalk with Benjamin Lees on the entrance stage
3pm: ASAP Presents: Stand-up & Storytelling. A variety show of stand-up comedy and storytelling. Reserve your tickets here.
ASAP Presents: Stand-up and Storytelling
3pm
Memorial Theater
Enjoy a variety show with both comedy and storytelling presented by the Armed Services Arts Partnership.
Watch LIVE online!
Featured ARTISTtalk: Leigh Cortez
Leigh Cortez is both an Army veteran and spouse of an active-duty combat soldier. She served on active duty with the 10th Mountain Division from 2001 to 2004. After leaving the military she pursued a tattoo apprenticeship and has tattooed professionally in addition to building a fine art career. As a multidisciplinary artist and married to an active-duty soldier, she has lived and worked in various military towns in the United States as well as overseas. The experiences of military life and tattooing in military towns influenced the medium and message of her painted works.
A member of UnitingUS, an organization supporting the work of artist veterans, Leigh’s work has been featured in the Dulles International Airport Present the Artwork of Female Veterans exhibition and will be displayed at the upcoming Summer of Healing with the Arts Exhibit at the Military Women’s Memorial, in Washington DC, Memorial Day 2021.
“My work examines the unpredictability, tension and trauma of military life from personal experience as veteran, and spouse of an active-duty combat soldier. Taking inspiration from artists of postwar Material Realism as well as Cubism, I continue the dialogue of the relationship between destruction and creation, concerning the picture plane and the image. I work both with destroying images indicative of the military tattoo subculture and with material intrinsically associated with destruction, such as the intestines of animals traditionally used for sausage preparation. The visually contrasting bodies of work thematically unite in a new space causing contention and anxiety. A chaos of opposing styles and material disunity, the space is volatile and unsolved. An attempt to communicate the collateral of constant war and the consequence of its gruesome vanity.”
UnitingUS Featured Artists On-Site
April Goodwin-Gill
Army Veteran, painter and jewlery maker
Mark Carson
Air Force Veteran, woodworking
Matthew Gill
Air Force Veteran, voice performance
Tan Armentrout
Air Force family member, oil painter
Tiffany Wheeler
Air Force family member, glass/tile and multimedia
Benjamin “Pins” Leese
Air Force family member, 19 year old painter
Gail Belmont
Army Veteran, quilter
Lewis Howard
Army Veterans, author
Sarah E. Moore
Creative Arts Therapist, experienctial dance movement
Ted Berkowitz
Army Vietnam Veteran, acrylic paiter
Leigh Cortez
Army Veteran, tattoo artistry performance
R. Cortez
Army, poetry reading
Cynthia Scott
Air Force Veteran, painter
AnnMarie Halterman
Air Force Veteran, wood-turner
About the curator
This exhibition is curated by renowned artist and scholar, Annette Polan, Professor Emeritus from the Corcoran College of Art and Design at George Washington University. Polan created the Faces of the Fallen exhibition, previously on display at the Military Women’s Memorial and the Pentagon, which featured portraits of servicemen and women who died while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. She is a participant in the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassy Program.
“The range of artworks created by Uniting US Artists for the Summer with the arts exhibition is breathtaking”
– AnnMarie Halterman, UnitingUS Executive Director
Other Featured Programs
More Than One Story: a collaborative performance by military women
July 10, 2021 | 1pm
The Military Women’s Memorial, in partnership with Community Building Art Works, will unveil a unique storytelling collaborative performance by military women. In addition, participants will share their experience going through the interactive workshop to create an space for them to share their experiences. This performance aims to inspire understanding, dialog and connection with participants, audience members and community leaders.
Over two days in May 2021, 9 military women from across the United States of America gathered virtually to weave their stories into a collaborative performance. This work is addressed to the women they came from, the women they were, the women they are becoming, and the women who will walk the trail they blazed.
Register to watch the livestream here!
Healing Arts Celebration
June 26, 2021 | 11am-4pm
Join the Military Women’s Memorial and UnitingUS in celebrating the healing and uniting power of the arts! A day filled with dynamic veteran artist talks, interactive live art demonstrations with veteran artists, with relaxing tours through the UnitingUS art exhibition with 180 artworks from 110 veteran and their family member artists are scheduled throughout the day.
Don’t miss the feature presentation of the day at 1pm with the Uniting US interactive panel discussion Celebrating the Spectrum of the Healing Arts. As part of the UnitingUS Summer with the Arts exhibition, our panel includes distinguished experts spanning perspectives from arts used in medical treatment programs, Arts in Health programs, to professional artists, community arts initiatives, and individual therapeutic art practices.
Celebrating Family & Wellness
August 28th, 2021 | 11am-4pm
One last Summer with the Arts hurrah family celebration filled with activities designed to engage kids including arts and crafts, UnitingUS veteran author book readings, and live UnitingUS artist discussions and participatory art demonstrations.
The Summer with the Arts Exhibition ends with a very special Honoring and Uniting Women Veterans ceremony with family, friends, and special guests in attendance. Join the Army’s All Women Band veteran professional musicians as military families and guests celebrate the healing and community building power of the arts, honor service of past and current veterans, and recognize our military family members and future leaders. The celebration ceremony is hosted by Quilts of Honor and Uniting US.
View the Full Event Calendar
Thank you to our partners
The Summer With The Arts has been coordinated in partnership with these impactful organizations.
This series was made possible with the generous support of our presenting sponsor, Optum Serve. Learn more about how you too can support our mission here.
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