New arts HQ Event to mobilize veterans in the arts on May 20

Local Veteran artists will display their work to the public at Arts HQ on Saturday, May 20, from 10 am to 4 pm in the Upper Parking Lot of the Veterans Memorial Building in Placerville. The free arts event — which takes place on Armed Forces Day during Mental Health Awareness Month — will raise awareness about veterans' mental health issues and include resources for Veterans and their caregivers.

Arts HQ is part of a series of pop-up community creative arts cafés being presented throughout California, resulting from a partnership between California's Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) and VETART, a San Diego-based arts non-profit. MHSOAC and VETART have partnered with Arts and Culture El Dorado to produce Arts HQ, the El Dorado County pop-up café.

“The pop-up cafés empower, uplift, and promote Veterans’ voices so that they can be heard and seen in the community,” explained Steven Dilley, the founder and Executive Director of VETART.

At VETART, military-connected individuals receive art instruction and gain access to resources that support them as artists. After decades of work with military-connected individuals, Steven has seen firsthand the powerful impact art can have on mental health. "People gain agency by being able to express themselves through non-verbal means. The outcome is that we see people's wellness go up, their participation avoidance goes down, and that translates into their life."

When Steven flies to events around California, he says he sits in the window seat and looks at the ground as they fly over cities. He sees an endless repetition of stadiums and arenas, malls, massive parking lots, and sprawling businesses. He wishes that community arts centers were as ubiquitous as those other fixtures of any city, large or small. Steven hopes that pop-up cafés like Arts HQ might serve as a floating community arts center, a mobile space for arts instruction, creation, and appreciation that can move from one community to another, serving Veterans throughout California.

Jordan Hyatt-Miller, Arts and Culture El Dorado’s Program Coordinator, sees Arts HQ as a unique opportunity to promote Veteran artists, forge new connections in the community, and kickstart dialogues about mental health, artmaking, the Veteran experience in El Dorado County, and their many intersections. He explained that “Arts HQ will fold in many different perspectives and even artistic practices, from the literary arts to painting to music. We are grateful to our partners in the City and County government here in El Dorado County, as well as VETART and MHSOAC. But, above all, we're grateful to the Veteran artists who are the real focus of this special event."

Arts HQ will take place in the Upper Parking Lot of the Veterans’ Memorial Building on May 20, from 10 am to 4 pm. At the same time, VFW 10165’s Veterans’ Coming Home event will be in the Lower Parking Lot. Both events are free and open to the public. At Arts HQ, County representatives from Veteran Services and Behavioral Health will be there to support Veterans and the public with mental health resources. In addition, the event will feature several interactive discussions and demonstrations, including a drum circle and a listening session, as well as opportunities to meet and have conversations with local Veteran artists.

For more information on the event, visit https://artsandcultureeldorado.org/arts-hq.

Location