First Lady of New York visits VA Hospital to view veterans’ artwork
The First Lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray paid a visit to the VA Hospital at Fort Hamilton Army Base on Thursday, March 19 for a tour of the facility’s “Portraits of a Veteran,” a two-year-old gallery consisting of art created by army veterans whose subject is other veterans. McCray was joined by Veterans’ Affairs Commissioner Loree Sutton to view the personal and well-crafted work.
“We’re going to give you a little sample of the extraordinary and complex work that the participants of the veterans support center create and are producing,” Beryl Brenner, Veterans Affairs creative arts therapist told McCray. “It’s real art that you’re looking at and the way it should be made.” The gallery is part of the hospital’s Recreational Art Therapy Program.
The veteran artists in the program experiment in a variety of materials, such as paint, collage and clay. However, the day’s tour focused on photographic portraits of veterans that explored personal identity.