CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH ART
Veterans and artists unite for a powerful day of healing and connection.
By Jessica Gregg
There’s that old expression about one door opening when another closes. But what about the sense of community that forms when plans unexpectedly change?
In 2023, a handful of writers from a virtual workshop decided to meet up in real life and registered to attend a writing conference together. They were part of a larger group of veterans, healthcare workers, family caregivers, and other community members participating in writing classes through a long-standing partnership between Strathmore and Community Building Art Works (CBAW).
Years earlier, this group met monthly at Strathmore. When the pandemic emerged, the workshops became virtual, and the ranks of the writers grew to include veterans and others from every continent. They shared their grief and joys, living out the very mission of CBAW using art to reconnect veterans with their communities.
“The heart of what we are trying to do is to address the loneliness that veterans experience,” says Seema Reza, founder and CEO of the Rockville-based nonprofit. “Loneliness happens to all of us but when you start to feel lonely, you begin to feel threatened, that there is no point in risking social interaction. We want to reaffirm that it’s worth the risk to connect.”
A Day of Belonging 2024 at Strathmore's Mansion (photo: Anthony Palliparambil)
The monthly writing workshops were a big part of that. So, too, would be the conference a few writers had registered to attend. Then it was canceled. At this point, the writers were too invested to give up on their plans. They decided instead to meet in Maryland, home to both Strathmore and CBAW. They planned to host a small party, a barbecue at their Airbnb, where they would finally have the chance to talk in person.
When they invited Reza to the gathering, she quickly saw the potential for something bigger. “Why don’t we reach out to everyone?” she asked the group. Reza called Strathmore’s Lauren Campbell, vice president of education and community engagement, who agreed that the meetup could be more than just a party.
Strathmore artists have been collaborating with Reza since 2010, when she worked as a military contractor providing veterans with art resources. Reza went on to found CBAW, where her partnership with Strathmore continued—leading to various art and music events at the Mansion for CBAW members, as well as in-person and virtual writing workshops.
A Day of Belonging 2024 plein air painters at Strathmore (photo: Anthony Palliparambil)
“We are lucky and honored to get to walk alongside these artists and CBAW and to learn from them,” Campbell says. “They make us better.”
Campbell and Reza’s conversation led to the 2023 creation of A Day of Belonging, which brought 90 participants—veterans, caregivers, and community members—to the Mansion at Strathmore for workshops focused on art and healing.
In a video from that day, Raye, a disabled veteran with treatment-resistant PTSD, described the obstacles she faced to attend the event. “I took a train, I came without my son, without my daughter, told my aide, ‘Go on vacation. I’m going by myself,’” she said to applause. “And I’m having a good time.”
Participants described the day as “a reunion” where they felt comfortable more quickly than expected and a safe space where they could be present without needing to be perfect. They cried together, consoled one another, listened to each other’s stories, and even wrote and performed a collective poem.
Creating connections at CBAW and Strathmore's Day of Belonging (photo: Anthony Palliparambil)
“The energy was so electric and filled with love,” Campbell says, emphasizing that the gathering “was not just words; it was true belonging.”
For Reza, it was hard to describe what she felt seeing the community convene. “Folks came from everywhere for this really, really beautiful day, and we knew immediately we had to do it again,” she says.
And so, they did. The second annual Day of Belonging took place at Strathmore in September and included a poetry workshop, mindfulness activities, a collaborative weaving project, woodcarving, papermaking, and more. Participants also watched We Carry On, a CBAW documentary made in partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project.
Once again, it was joyous—a homecoming. “The best way to experience belonging is to give belonging, and we all attended this event with that intention,” says Reza.
Strathmore is grateful to Lockheed Martin for supporting our Bloom access initiative and for making this event possible.