It’s almost Spring! I am so excited for the sun and warmth to be a regular daily appearance. The cold days get me down. New flowers blooming and beaming sunshine makes me want to get up and do something exciting and new. If you feel that way too, we have lots of great offerings for our community of current and prior military service members and their families to get involved in creative activities this Spring.
Next week March 11-14, here in Austin, besides the annual SXSW festival, it is the annual Austin VA National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. These local competitions happen at VA Clinics all over the U.S. to choose artwork to send to the national competition. So if you are in Austin, check out the VA submission guidelines for your visual art, writing, music, dance, or performance. If you are in another city, reach out to your local VA for details.
For the creative writers out there, we are continuing our writing classes in Temple. This year we have expanded to include classes for Spouses. Two new 8-week classes start at the Cultural Activities Center in Temple on March 30th. An overview of all types of writing styles for Spouses taught by Cynthia Linzy and a Narrative Non-Fiction class for Veterans and current military members taught by Ben Reed. There is still room for participants in both classes! Register today!
More classes are being planned for Austin, Killeen, and Fort Hood. If you are interested in any of these, please let us know!
And big news for our creative veterans and their family members…we are part of the first ever Austin Veteran Arts (AVA) Festival. We are curating the visual art portion as well as hosting the Health and Wellness Conference and the Literary Conference. These will be among the many offerings including dance, music, and theater for this citywide month-long festival kicking off October 12th. The Call for Visual Art is out now with a deadline of April 1st. Don’t miss out on being a part of this big event! Find AVA Fest details here.
If you have any questions or want more information on any of these offerings, please email me or call 512-454-9912, and I will be happy to talk to you. Now, go outside and enjoy the sunshine!
April Sullivan
Artworks Director
Art Spark Texas