Events

All workshops are listed in Eastern Time.

Unless specifically noted, our programs are free, virtual and suited for participants ages 16+. For further details about what to expect from our workshops, including accessibility options, and registration & Zoom instructions, click here.

More Than One Story: An Arts Program for Women & Nonbinary Military & Veterans

Zoom Virtual Event

Join Community Building Art Works in a virtual orientation session to learn more about our program for women and non-binary military (Active Duty and Veterans), More Than One Story. Individuals interested in participating in MTOS are required to attend one Orientation Session. Orientations sessions take place on the second Tuesday of each month at 12 pm & 6 pm Eastern Time. After attending a single orientation session, participants will be able to attend the monthly workshop on the fourth Monday of every month. All discharge statuses are welcome. This program is partially funded by the SSG Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program through the VA. Registration closes 24 hours before scheduled orientation sessions. REGISTER FOR ORIENTATION HERE

Creative Writing Workshop with Ben Weakley in Partnership with Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Easterseals & The Up Center

Zoom Virtual Event

Join us for a generative creative writing workshop where we use the written and spoken word to find healing and self-discovery together in a welcoming, safe community. Open to all voices. No experience necessary. Ben Weakley spent fourteen years in the U.S. Army, beginning with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and finishing at a desk inside the Pentagon. He writes poetry and prose about the enduring nature of war and the human experience for veterans, their families, and anyone who would help them bear witness to war and its aftermath. A believer in the power of words to empower and heal, Ben leads writing workshops for Active Duty Military, Veterans, their families and caregivers, as well as Frontline Health Care Workers and other communities of ordinary people bearing witness to a difficult world. Ben lives in the Tri-Cities of Northeast Tennessee with his wife, two children, and a well-meaning but poorly behaved hound-dog. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program is managed by Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Poetic Record: Resilience Workshop for Healthcare Workers with Laura Van Prooyen

Zoom Virtual Event

Join our community of healthcare workers, where writing offers connection, expression & relief from holding it all together. This free, online workshop led by Laura Van Prooyen, blends poetry, community, and the science of resilience. Each week, Laura selects a poem and together participants read, respond, write and can choose to share. We believe that at the heart of community is communication and at the heart of communication is knowing what you contain. We know art helps us better understand what we hold within ourselves and allows us to better express that to the people around us. No creative writing experience required. This workshop is intended for healthcare providers that are age 18 or older. Laura Van Prooyen is author of three collections of poetry: Frances of the Wider Field, Our House Was on Fire, nominated by Philip Levine and winner of the McGovern Prize, and Inkblot and Altar. She is also co-author of Text Structures from Poetry, a book of writing lessons for educators of grades 4-12. Van Prooyen is the Managing Editor for The Cortland Review, facilitates free online workshops with Community Building Art Works for healthcare workers, and is the founder of Next Page Press. She works […]

Open Art Studio – An Online Visual Art Workshop with Veteran Artist Joe Merritt

Zoom Virtual Event

Come hang out in a collaborative group setting and bring anything you want to work on, in any medium. Often times we view art making as a singular experience, communicating through visual expression often starts at the planning and early stages. In this workshop we will be nurturing this practice. Suggested Supplies: Anything you want to use to make marks, sculpt, build, or create. It is entirely up to you. Joe Merritt was medically retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2016 after 10 years of honorable service. Joe rediscovered art during his medical treatment and has a successful career as a professional artist, exhibiting his work and presenting gallery talks across the country. He is a steward of the veteran art community, leading art programming with active duty and veteran populations in DC, MD and VA. About CBAW Visual Arts Workshops Join Veterans and Artists, Valerie Acosta, Shaun Smith, Joe Merritt, or a special guest to learn new art techniques on Wednesdays at 7pm EST. Come hang out in a collaborative group setting and bring what materials you have. No experience necessary! To register, click the link below. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: […]

Creative Writing Workshop with Seema Reza

Zoom Virtual Event

No experience required! If you can think, you can write. In this creative writing workshop, we'll consider writing as a tool for communication, expression, and relief from holding it all together. Join us. Seema Reza is the author of the books A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open. She is the CEO of Community Building Art Works, a non-profit organization that brings workshops led by professional artists to service members, veterans, and clinicians. An alumnus of Goddard College and VONA, Reza has taught poetry in classrooms, jails, hospitals, and universities. She was a 2019 Stand-to Veteran Leadership Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute and the 2023 Pauli Murray Art for Racial Justice Fellow at the Antiracism Research and Policy Center at American University. Reza’s writing has been widely anthologized and has appeared in the Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The LA Review, LitHub, and Electric Literature among others. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program is managed by Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Poetic Record: Resilience Workshop for Healthcare Workers with Laura Van Prooyen

Zoom Virtual Event

Join our community of healthcare workers, where writing offers connection, expression & relief from holding it all together. This free, online workshop led by Laura Van Prooyen, blends poetry, community, and the science of resilience. Each week, Laura selects a poem and together participants read, respond, write and can choose to share. We believe that at the heart of community is communication and at the heart of communication is knowing what you contain. We know art helps us better understand what we hold within ourselves and allows us to better express that to the people around us. No creative writing experience required. This workshop is intended for healthcare providers that are age 18 or older. Laura Van Prooyen is author of three collections of poetry: Frances of the Wider Field, Our House Was on Fire, nominated by Philip Levine and winner of the McGovern Prize, and Inkblot and Altar. She is also co-author of Text Structures from Poetry, a book of writing lessons for educators of grades 4-12. Van Prooyen is the Managing Editor for The Cortland Review, facilitates free online workshops with Community Building Art Works for healthcare workers, and is the founder of Next Page Press. She works […]

Photography for Artists — An Online Visual Art Workshop with Veteran Artist Valerie Acosta

Zoom Virtual Event

Have your cameras/phones ready as Veteran and artist Valerie Acosta reviews the basic photography rules, tips on using your cameras/phones, how to take a reference photo, and how to photograph your finished work. All are welcome! Suggested Supplies: Any Camera (Cell phone, point & shoot, or an interchangeable lens camera.)   Photo by Valerie Acosta   Valerie Acosta served in the United States Air Force for 20 years before retiring in 2022. She is a self-taught visual artist and published photographer. Her mediums include acrylic, gouache, watercolors, pencils, pens, clay and wood. Her art has been exhibited at the Arches Gallery in the Workhouse Arts Center in Virginia. She is also a DoD-certified Master Resilience Trainer and loves to teach resiliency skills that can support mental health and replace misery with happiness. About CBAW Visual Arts Workshops Join Veterans and Artists, Valerie Acosta, Shaun Smith, Joe Merritt, or a special guest to learn new art techniques on Wednesdays at 7pm EST. Come hang out in a collaborative group setting and bring what materials you have. No experience necessary! To register, click the link below. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an […]

Military Voices: A Free Writing Workshop for Active Duty, Veterans & Military Families with Kevin Basl in Partnership with Blue Star Families

Zoom Virtual Event

It's time to tell your story. Blue Star Families has partnered with Community Building Art Works (CBAW) for a virtual creative writing workshop. Writing is a powerful tool for communication, self-discovery, and reflection. Together over Zoom, we’ll read a short piece of writing, see what makes it work, and use it to enter into our own stories. This workshop runs on the 1st & 3rd Thursdays of each month from 3:30 - 4:30 PM Eastern Time. No writing experience required—if you can think, you can write. Open to everyone who has served, as well as to military family members and caregivers. Kevin Basl is a writer and musician living near Ithaca, New York. He was a mobile radar operator in the U.S. Army. Over the past decade, he has taught many writing and art-marking workshops for service members, veterans, and their communities. He's author of Midnight Cargo: Stories and Poems (Illuminated Press), and he's co-author of a chapbook of poems: Corn, Coal & Yellow Ribbons (Out of Step Press). (Midnight Cargo by Kevin Basl | illuminatedpress ) About Blue Star Families: The families of our all-volunteer military make unprecedented sacrifices these days to serve our country. Blue Star Families was […]

Creative Writing Workshop with Seema Reza

Zoom Virtual Event

No experience required! If you can think, you can write. In this creative writing workshop, we'll consider writing as a tool for communication, expression, and relief from holding it all together. Join us. Seema Reza is the author of the books A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open. She is the CEO of Community Building Art Works, a non-profit organization that brings workshops led by professional artists to service members, veterans, and clinicians. An alumnus of Goddard College and VONA, Reza has taught poetry in classrooms, jails, hospitals, and universities. She was a 2019 Stand-to Veteran Leadership Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute and the 2023 Pauli Murray Art for Racial Justice Fellow at the Antiracism Research and Policy Center at American University. Reza’s writing has been widely anthologized and has appeared in the Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The LA Review, LitHub, and Electric Literature among others. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program is managed by Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Intro to Music – An Online Music Workshop with Wytold

Zoom Virtual Event

Now a monthly MissionBelonging Program! Used to play an instrument but it's been a long time? Always wanted to try to learn an instrument or write a song, but not sure where to start? Join cellist and composer Wytold on the first Monday of each month and get started! Instruments are welcome but not required. Wytold (aka William Wytold Lebing) is a six-string cellist and composer from Washington DC whose original music is featured in film, theater and dance productions. Learn more at wytoldmusic.com and listen to "Wytold" on Spotify and Apple Music. @wytold | @wytoldmusic REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program is managed by Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Comedy Writing Workshop with Amelia Bane in Partnership with Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Easterseals & The Up Center

Zoom Virtual Event

Join comedian Amelia Bane for a comedy writing workshop. Give yourself a break from your routine and take some time to laugh in community. Each workshop, we will read a humor piece and react to it together. After some discussion about technique and what makes comedy writing work, we’ll write our own pieces. We’ll come together at the end of the hour to hear a few participants share their work. You never have to share if you’re not in the mood. Come write with us or just come laugh with us! Open to all, and no experience required. Amelia Bane is a writer, improviser, and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. She trained at The Upright Citizens Brigade and has performed improv and sketch comedy at theaters all over NYC. Amelia holds degrees in Literature and Film from The College of William & Mary and Goddard College. She facilitates improv and comedy writing workshops for veterans, and service members in military hospitals, and in corporate settings, using humor and spontaneity to teach emotional regulation and communication. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment in partnership with the U.S. […]

More Than One Story: Orientation Session for An Arts Program for Women & Nonbinary Military & Veterans

Zoom Virtual Event

Join Community Building Art Works in a virtual orientation session to learn more about our program for women and non-binary military (Active Duty and Veterans), More Than One Story. Individuals interested in participating in MTOS are required to attend one Orientation Session. Orientations sessions take place on the second Tuesday of each month at 12 pm & 6 pm Eastern Time. After attending a single orientation session, participants will be able to attend the monthly workshop on the fourth Monday of every month. All discharge statuses are welcome. This program is partially funded by the SSG Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program through the VA. Registration closes 24 hours before scheduled orientation sessions. REGISTER FOR ORIENTATION HERE