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.
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.
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 […]
This week we will be making "zines," a self-published, small-circulation booklet centering around a specific topic. Choose a topic for your zine so that we can create a cohesive publication, then Veteran Artist Valerie Acosta will guide you through the planning, making and distribution of the zine. Suggested Supplies: Note that a zine usually revolves around a particular topic; this could be your poems, memories, jokes, stories, music, photography, etc. Paper (regular printer paper works fine, 8.5" x 11" recommended) Magazine cut-outs, photos, stickers, lettering, other embellishments that can help tell your story glue or tape scissors ruler (recommended but not necessary) 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 […]
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. 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 founded by military spouses in 2009 to empower these families to thrive as they serve. […]
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.