Since 2019, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art has partnered with the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center to host monthly programs, inviting veterans to discuss artwork made by fellow veterans and create their own.
Amanda Boehm-Garcia, head of museum experiences, started the program and has since sought to expand its outreach — not only to veterans at the VA hospital, but also to those on OU’s campus.
One of her favorite aspects of the program is the opportunity to get to know veterans on a personal level, something she hopes to do more of on campus. She said she wants them to feel that the museum is a safe place to express themselves and talk with people who understand what they are going through now, and what they’ve gone through previously.
When she discovered Steven Yazzie, whose work is on display at the museum, is a Gulf War veteran, she saw an opportunity to connect to OU’s student veteran community.
“And I thought, ‘Oh my God, perfect.’ You know, he can talk about his veteran experience,” Boehm-Garcia said. “So, I talked to him about the group that we currently work with, but I have always been looking for a way to connect with the campus. And he just loved the idea.”
Yazzie will present his exhibition “Rivers & Roads: Steven Yazzie in Action,” a work he created during his transition from military service to civilian life, at the museum.
“I’m honored to be visiting the University of Oklahoma to share my work with the community of military students,” Yazzie wrote in an email to OU Daily. “As both an artist and a veteran, I see this as an important opportunity to connect through stories, images, and dialogue.”
Yazzie will meet with veterans to talk about his art at 3 p.m. today at the museum. Attendees will have the opportunity to create artwork to express themselves.
“He's wanting to share a presentation of the work that he was doing when he transitioned out of the military and into civilian life as a way to sort of show how he kind of processed that time,” Boehm-Garcia said. “In hopes that it might be useful or helpful to someone who's been through the same experience, or maybe going through the same sort of thing.
“He's going to do a presentation here in the museum of that work, and then we're going to go to his exhibit space with him, and he'll talk about his current work that's on display now in the museum. … If there's time, I've planned a little art activity, just something to give everybody in the group a moment to kind of express themselves.”
Boehm-Garcia grew up with family in the Air Force and then later became an Army wife. This is one of the reasons she is so passionate about this event and helping veterans. Another reason she is so passionate is because many works in the museum are veteran-made.
“The reason I started this whole thing with the VA group from the Oklahoma City Hospital is because we have so many (veteran-made) artworks in the collection,” Boehm-Garcia said. “Every time they come to visit, we look at artwork by a veteran artist as an example. So, we're kind of uniquely positioned to do this work more than maybe a different museum that doesn't have that kind of collection.”
Yazzie said he wants to connect with students and older veterans by reflecting on shared experiences.
“My practice is rooted in sharing perspectives and building bridges, and engaging with these students allows me to reflect on our shared experiences while opening space for new conversations,” Yazzie wrote.
The event aims to help participants build trust and process difficult emotions, thoughts and memories through art and community. Boehm-Garcia said the museum will continue to provide safe spaces for veterans to express themselves and connect with others.
The “Alpha Romeo Tango: An Afternoon with Steven Yazzie” presentation and discussion will be 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The exhibit will be on display until March 15.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Kennedy Johnson and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
