Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is proud to join with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to bring the Creative Forces program to Texas. Helping military personnel heal from the complex wounds of our recent wars is a national priority that arts and military leaders in Texas are embracing.
Creative Forces is an initiative of the NEA in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, plus state and local arts agencies. The network places creative arts therapies at the core of patient-centered care at 11 military medical facilities across the country, as well as a telehealth program to reach patients in rural and remote areas, and increases access to arts activities for military personnel, veterans, and their families in local communities. Americans for the Arts is working with the NEA to provide administrative support for Creative Forces.
Fort Hood in Killeen has been selected to be one of the 11 clinical sites around the country to participate in the Creative Forces initiative. This program is creating a community-based military and family support network to provide increased opportunities for arts programs in and around Fort Hood.
The Texas Creative Forces Arts and Military Conference took place in Killeen on January 29 & 30, 2018. The conference was open to artists, arts providers, arts therapists, the military community, and the general public interested in serving members of the military, veterans, and their families in Texas. Together, conference participants began to develop a network of local arts organizations prepared to offer programs to military service members transitioning from a clinic setting to the community as well as to military families and veterans. Special guests included Karen Pence, Second Lady of the United States and Cecilia Abbott, First Lady of Texas.
Texas Creative Forces Arts and Military Conference
Fort Hood Intrepid Spirit Center, Killeen Texas
From left to right:
Panel discussion: Dr. Scot Engel, Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins, Lieutenant Commander Allah
Artist and conference speaker Eldrena Douma visiting with attendees
Speaker Bart Pitchford (Doctoral Candidate in Performance as Public Practice, UT Austin)
Art therapist and conference speaker Peter Boutte chatting with attendees
Photographs by Katherine Staat
For more information about this program, please contact Dana Douglass Swann at 512/936-6570 or email dana.swann@arts.texas.gov.
