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Veterans Creative Arts Competition
VA Maryland Health Care System
Call for Entries Now Closed
Our 2024 call for entries has now closed. Please join us at our local showcase on Saturday, September 7th from 10AM -5PM in the 4-H/FFA Home Arts Building at the Maryland State Fair. You can view Veteran artwork, writing, performances, and speak to the creators themselves!
If you'd like to receive updates and information about next year's Veteran's Creative Arts Competition, please sign up for our e-mail blast list below.
2024 Showcase Info
This year's local Veterans Creative Arts Showcase will be hosted by the Maryland State Fair!
Date: Saturday, September 7th
Time: 10AM-4PM
Location: 4-H FFA Home Arts Building
Maryland State Fair
All Veteran participants, family, and friends are welcome! Veteran participants will be provided details about parking by the Home Arts Building closer to the event. Non-Veteran attendees will typically need to pay for admission to the fair. Tickets can be purchased at the state fair website by clicking the showcase flyer above or selecting this link: Maryland State Fair. Veterans have free access to the Maryland State Fair.
Showcase Schedule
10AM - Doors Open, Art & Writing Exhibit Open
11:30 - Performer Stage Show
2PM - Awards Ceremony with Director Jonathan Eckman
3-5PM - Art & Writing Exhibit Open
8PM - Doors Close
What is the National Veteran's Creative Arts Competition & Festival?
The National Veteran's Creative Arts Competition & Festival is a national VA event that happens each year to showcase and celebrate the creative talents of our nations Veterans and recognize the importance of the creative arts and creative arts therapies in the wellness, rehabilitation, and recovery of our nation's Veterans. This includes the opportunity to share creative works in 5 different divisions:
ART
MUSIC
DANCE
DRAMA
CREATIVE WRITING
Local creative arts competition finalists advance to a national judging process and first, second, and third place entries are determined at the national level. First place winning Veterans are typically invited to attend the National Veteran's Creative Arts Festival, hosted by a different VA facility each year.
What is the VAMHCS Veterans Creative Arts Competition?
The VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) Veterans Creative Arts Competition is the local portion of the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival and helps to determine which local entries will be forwarded to the national level of competition.
Veterans must be selected as a finalist at their local level of competition in order to be included in the national level of competition.
A Showcase at the Fair!
Maryland State Fair hosts Veteran Artists, Performers, and Writers!
Since 2022 the VAMHCS Veteran's Creative Arts Competition Showcase has been hosted by the Maryland State Fair in the 4H/FFA Home Arts Building.
Veteran artwork is typically on display to the public throughout the duration of the fair, but one day is chosen to serve as the formal showcase. On this date Veteran participants, family, and friends come together to celebrate our Veteran's accomplishments. This includes an art display, stage show, and awards ceremony. At this event, our Veteran participants have the opportunity to speak with both their fellow Veteran's and attendees from the public about their creative work and why it's so important.
Frequently Asked Questions!
Who Can Enter?
The VAMHCS Veterans Creative Arts Competition is open to any Veteran enrolled for care in the VA Maryland Health Care System.
If you are not yet enrolled, you can do so here: Register For Care | VA Maryland Health Care | Veterans Affairs.
Veterans are not required to be actively receiving care in order to participate, but you must be enrolled in the system.
When are local competition entries due?
Competition entries for the VAMHCS Veteran's Creative Arts Competition are typically due in mid-summer.
How do I get entry info to submit to my local competition?
The POC for the Maryland VA Veteran's Creative Arts Competition is Kelsey Eisenhauer. Contact info below. You can also use the button above to be added to the VAMHCS NVCAF e-mail list. Submission information typically becomes available around late spring.
E-mail: kelsey.eisenhauer@va.gov or VAMHCSRCATS@va.gov
Phone: 410-585-4477
What kind of entries can I submit?
Entries are accepted in the 5 divisions of Art, Music, Dance, Drama and Creative Writing. There are no restrictions on creative ability/skill. Veterans are typically limited to 3 entries per division, and 1 per category within that division. (Ex. Art (division) - B&W photography (category), Pottery (category), Paint-by-Number Kit (category). There are over 100 categories to submit in across all 5 divisions!
Each division has rules regarding what can and cannot be submitted for competition. If your piece does not qualify for the competition, it may still be considered as a non-competition (un-judged) entry.
What is involved in entering?
What happens after I submit my entry?
After submission, all entries will be judged at the local level and then included in a local showcase. Since 2022, the VAMHCS has held our annual local showcase in the 4H/FFA Home Arts Building at the Maryland State Fair. At this event, Veteran artwork will be on display, writers and performers will have the opportunity to share their works through a stage show, and Veteran participants have the opportunity to connect with showcase attendees and their fellow creative peers.
When and where does the National Festival take place?
Local 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winning entries are submitted to the national level of judging in late September. National results are typically released in late December, and the National Festival takes place the following spring. Each year the location changes. The 2024 Festival will take place in Denver, Colorado. If invited to NVCAF, all Veteran travel costs are covered.
2023 National Winners!!!
The following VAMHCS Veterans took 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in the 2023 national level of competition. Please join me in congratulating all of our national finalists!
- 1st Place Rhyming Poetry-Inspirational (Creative Writing) – Sean Richardson for “In Realms of Light & Shadows”
- 1st Place Vocal Jazz (Music) – Reggie Thomas for “Unforgettable”
- 1st Place Vocal R&B/Soul/Funk (Music) – Reggie Thomas for “One in a Million”
- Therapeutic Arts Scholarship Winner – Rose Matchett
- 2nd Place Crocheting and Knitting (Art) – Sky Dyson for “Fisherman’s Cable Knit Poncho”
- 2nd Place Needlework Kit (Art) – Erin Bartholomew for “The Flame Stitch Sampler”
- 3rd Place Suncatcher Kit (Art) – Christine Bush for “Sun & Moon Collection”
- 3rd Place Instrumental Group Jazz/R&B/Soul (Music) – Ambience (group) for Desfinado
- 3rd Place Vocal Solo Pop (Music) – Reggie Thomas for “I’ll Be Around”
The competition is extremely steep at the national level as there were over 3,000 participating Veterans and nearly 6,000 entries submitted from 125 VA facilities across the united states. 1st place national winners and the Therapeutic Arts Scholarship winner have been invited to attend the national festival this May 2024 in Denver, CO. 2nd and 3rd place finalists will not attend the festival, but will receive a medal that is expected to be mailed out in the spring.
Music/Creative Arts Therapy Programs
Music & Creative Arts Therapy is an evidence-based approach to clinical treatment that utilizes music and creative arts approaches and interventions in combination with a therapeutic relationship with a Board-Certified Music Therapist or Licensed Art Therapist to help work on clinical goals for rehabilitation and wellness purposes.
Maryland VA Adaptive Sports Programs
The Maryland VA Adaptive Sports program provides a variety of fitness, sporting teams, events, clinics, and various outdoor adventures that are modified to support anyone and their specific abilities.
Pictures from the 2023 Veteran's Creative Arts Showcase
For More Information Contact:
Kelsey Eisenhauer, LPMT, MT-BC
VAMHCS Veterans Creative Arts Competition Coordinator
Music Therapy Clinic (Bldg 24H, Rm 013)Email: kelsey.eisenhauer@va.gov
Location:
VA Maryland Health Care System
Perry Point, MD, USA 21902
Work Cell: 410-585-4477