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Contemporary Jewish Museum

Veteran Art Workshops

Thursdays, June 24–July 15 | 2–4pm

ADMISSION: Free with RSVP; all supplies will be provided

Veterans, join us online for Thursday afternoon artist-led workshops this summer! Artists will lead activities including art journaling, poetry, cyanotype prints, and drawing in this series of hands-on workshops. All materials will be shipped directly to participants, free of charge.

This program is presented by The Contemporary Jewish Museum in partnership with San Francisco Veteran Affairs.

Register

About the Artists

Fanny Garcia is a first-generation Salvadoran-American artist from Los Angeles, based in Oakland, CA. She is an Army veteran who served from 2010–2013. After leaving the military, she received a BFA in photography from California College of the Arts in Oakland. Since graduating, Garcia has led various art workshops with combat veterans in her community. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally at the Kala Gallery in Berkeley, CA, the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago, IL, and Sunstudios in Sydney, Australia.

Omar Columbus is a photographer, poet, curator, advocate, and Air Force veteran. A native of Washington, North Carolina, he enlisted after high school and served for twelve years on active duty. An Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veteran seeking healing and comfort from post-traumatic stress, his poetry and photography became his creative outlets.

A Brooklyn College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Art, Columbus has written and performed with Poetic Theater Productions since 2019. He has also read his poetry at the Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festival, the New York City Poetry Festival, the New York Historical Society, and in collaboration with Exit12 Dance Company for a performance on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

Columbus’s photography has been featured in various group exhibitions at the legendary Salmagundi Club in New York, and he was offered the opportunity to curate a show of veteran artists from across the nation, representing all branches of the military. From There to Here: Military Veterans’ Experiences opened in Manhattan in February 2020. Find Columbus at @omarcphotography

Amanda Saint Claire resides in Del Mar and Idyllwild, CA. Her studio is located in Sorrento Valley, CA. She shares her creative space with and actively mentors emerging neurodivergent artist Katie Flores (www.inclusionartbykatie.com). She is the co-founder of the Artist Mentor Project (www.artisteducation.org). Saint Claire is a Navy veteran, mother to three teenagers, and has been married to her partner, a scientist in the Navy, for twenty-two years. Saint Claire has lived on three U.S. coasts (East, West, and Gulf) and on three continents. Her commitment to service and her sense of adventure continues to inspire her travels and her work.