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.

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

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.

Creative Sanctuary: A Creative Arts & Meditative Space Held by CBAW Facilitators and Community Members.

Zoom Virtual Event

Join us for an afternoon of respite on Monday, January 20th 12pm-1pm EST. Creative Sanctuary offers a welcoming space for art, writing, meditation, and meaningful connection. Whether you’re an artist, writer, or simply seeking a moment of calm, this workshop is for you. Held by CBAW facilitators and community members, this event invites you to bring a project you’re working on or something that inspires you to share with the group. Together, we’ll explore our creative sides, find tranquility, and build connections in a supportive environment, away from the noise. All are welcome. REGISTER HERE

Event Series Online Visual Art Workshops for Everyone

Artist Series: Alma Thomas — An Online Visual Art Workshop with Veteran Artist Valerie Acosta

Zoom Virtual Event

In this workshop we will learn about Alma Thomas. She was an expressionist abstract artist who had a major influence in the Washington Color School Art Movement. Join Valerie on zoom and learn about her life and art, and then make your own art in the style of Thomas. As always, you can follow along or work on your own project. All are welcome in this free virtual workshop. Suggested Supplies: Canvas or other surface for painting Acrylic paint (thick or medium body) Brushes, water, palette, etc. 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 […]

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

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.

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

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. […]

Event Series Online Visual Art Workshops for Everyone

Crafting Remembrance: Pinecones to Poppies – An Online Visual Art Workshop with Veteran Artist Stephen McCombs

Zoom Virtual Event

Discover the art of remembrance in our special workshop with Veteran Artist Stephen McCombs. Steve will be teaching us how to craft poppies from reclaimed pinecones as we honor the fallen. This session is a blend of creativity and tribute, a chance to express and remember. Suggested Supplies: Pinecones Scissors Acrylic Paint Wire or pipe cleaners Wire cutter Super glue or hot glue gun About Steve McCombs "I retired with over 20 years of service in the United States Army. I’ve enjoyed woodworking and working with my hands since a very early age. It’s always been fun to see what you can create from nothing. I taught a I wood turning class at the USO at Fort Belvoir, while I was a wounded warrior. I’ve found woodworking to be a very useful and healing. I’ve always said that it’s Sawdust Therapy. It’s my hope that it will be a blessing and a healing experience for you!" | Follow Steve on Instagram. 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 […]

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

Creative Writing Workshop with Shuly Xóchitl Cawood

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. Shuly Xóchitl Cawood is the author of several books, including the flash essay collection WHAT THE FORTUNE TELLER WOULD HAVE SAID, winner of the 2022 Iron Horse Literary Review Prose Chapbook Competition, and the poetry collection SOMETHING SO GOOD IT CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH. Shuly has an MFA in creative writing, and her work has been published in The New York Times, The Sun, and Brevity. Learn more about her at shulycawood.com. 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.

Event Series Online Visual Art Workshops for Everyone

Painting with Fall Colors – Part Three: Finishing Touches & Review — An Online Visual Art Workshop with Veteran Artist Shaun Smith

Zoom Virtual Event

In this final installment for our three-part project on painting with fall colors, Veteran artist Shaun Smith will instruct the group on adding in some finishing touches and going through an overview of the project. As always, participants are welcome to follow along with Shaun or bring anything you'd like to work on of your own. Suggested Supplies: Your almost completed painting Watercolor paint Paint brushes Dry pastels Charcoal pencils Drawing pencils Paper towels Q tips Water container Optional: gouache paint Shaun Smith is a Retired U.S. Army Veteran and Fine Artist based in Northern Maine. Shaun served 10 years as a Combat Medic with a tour in Afghanistan. During that time he was awarded The Combat Medic Badge for providing care under fire and a Purple Heart for injuries sustained from a VBIED. Shaun found comfort in art therapy as a way to express his experiences, leading him to enroll into an art university. Shaun graduated from The Academy of Art University of San Francisco with a Bachelors in Fine art Painting in 2021. Shaun dedicates his time to painting landscapes, wildlife, and peaceful moments. "War carves a deep scar on us, always reminding us long after we leave […]

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

A Conversation with What Haunts You: An Online Creative Writing Workshop with author Cathy Linh Che in Partnership with Strathmore

Zoom Virtual Event

Creative writing is a tool for knowing yourself, understanding the world, and connecting with other people. Led by author Seema Reza and accomplished guest writers—including poets, memoirists, novelists, and storytellers—these generative community workshops follow the model developed by Community Building Art Works (CBAW) over the course of a decade of bringing people together in military and hospital settings. Each workshop is designed to help participants put their personal stories on paper in a supportive environment. Whether you’re just starting out or have been writing for years, you are welcome; no experience is required. Bring a pen, a notebook, and an open mind! A Conversation with What Haunts You with author Cathy Linh Che (in partnership with Strathmore) About This Workshop In this generative writing session, we will invite what is haunting us into conversations with us on the page. The prompt is adapted from an exercise offered up by the writer Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, who adapted it from The Ghostline Collective. Please note that this workshop will not be recorded. Cathy Linh Che is Vietnamese American a writer and multidisciplinary artist. She is the author of Becoming Ghost (Washington Square Press, 2025), Split (Alice James Books) and co-author, with Kyle Lucia […]

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

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.

Event Series Online Creative Writing Workshops for Everyone

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.

Event Series Online Visual Art Workshops for Everyone

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®: […]