We invite veterans to express their stories and emotions through the power of art at the Veterans Creative Arts Program. This is a unique opportunity to showcase your talents, whether through visual arts or other creative talents. Come and share your experiences, connect with fellow veterans, and celebrate the healing power of creativity.
Registration & Contact Information:
- Register here or call (910) 254-0907 (English) or (910) 341-0056 (Español) for more details
Creating in Community with Cammeron Batanides
In this studio-style class, we will create original works of art with the option to exhibit and/or sell our work during June, which is PTSD awareness month. Participants are invited to explore various mediums, share their work with other creatives in the classroom, and participate in optional class critiques.
Tuesday afternoons: June 10 - August 5, 2025 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM at 1101 Manly Ave. (Davis Center at Maides Park)
About the instructor: Cammeron Batanides is an internationally known fine artist and children’s book author/illustrator whose works have been featured across the United States, in Jamaica and throughout Canada, at the 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and at the legendary Los Angeles Fine Arts Building. She was the first live painter for The Wailers, on the USS North Carolina Battleship, and at Wilmington’s historic Thalian Hall’s inaugural reggae show. Cammeron has recently returned from Washington, D.C, where over 40 of her original works were exhibited adjacent to the Smithsonian at Pepco Edison Place Gallery. Cammeron’s originals were simultaneously displayed in Leland, North Carolina at Leland Cultural Arts Center.
Creating in Watercolor with Kristen Dorsey
This beginner's class features several fun projects that experiment with watercolor in combination with other mediums. Participants will create small works that can be framed, given as gifts, or made into greeting cards.
Wednesday evenings: June 18 - July 30 from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM at 1101 Manly Ave. (Davis Center at Maides Park)
Soft Pastel Portraits with Zerick Jones
Each participant can create a portrait of a person of their choosing. We will contact you about emailing and printing an image for class. If you know which picture you would like to work on in class, please email the image to andrea.talley@wilmingtonnc.gov
Thursday evenings: June 12 - July 24 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM 1101 Manly Ave. (Davis Center at Maides Park). No class on June 19, 2025.
Veteran Art Exhibit & Reception
Art Exhibit on Display: June 2 - July 31, 2025
Artist Reception: Friday, June 27 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: 24 South Coffeehouse (24 South Front Street) with Artists: Kobe Kelley, Zerick Jones, Ariel Fitzner, DaDa, MHJ, and James McCoy.