Summer Salute to Service Artwork Contest
This year, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) is exploring the theme of connection. The Veteran experience is different for everyone, but we can all make an effort to better understand that experience and connect with one another.
Artistic expression is often used by Veterans and non-Veterans alike to process thoughts and feelings and share a personal narrative. We want you to share your connection to the Veteran experience through your own artwork. Think: What is my connection to the Veteran experience?
Request for Artwork: In collaboration with the Delaware County Veterans Service Office (Ohio), we are requesting submissions for two-dimensional (2-D) art from all ages in four categories. Artists may submit one image of 2-D art for consideration. All 2-D mediums are welcome and should fit in one of the sizes listed below (canvas will not be accepted).
Thanks to the support of Battelle, the NVMM will frame the top three finalists in each age group. These will first be displayed at the Delaware County (Ohio) Fair from September 16 – 23, and then on view at the NVMM from October 2023 – April 2024. Winners will also receive gift cards donated by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff and United Art & Education Superstore, a certificate signed by all six judges and a one-year Integrity membership to the Museum.
How to Submit:
★ Artwork should be photographed and submitted as a high-resolution image.
★ Please save image as JPEG
★ Include the title of the artwork with the uploaded image.
★ Email as attachment to Education@nationalvmm.org
Size Requirements
Submissions should fit the following sizes:
8” x 10”, 16” x 20” or 24” x 36”
Age Groups
Artists will be grouped into four separate categories:
Youth (11 and under), Teen (12 – 17), Adult (18+) and Veteran/Active-Duty Service Members (with proof of service).
Selecting the Winners
A panel of six judges will review each digital submission and determine the three finalists for each category. They will then determine the overall winner for each group. The finalists will be responsible for sending the original artwork to the NVMM.
Meet Your Judges:
Shawn Augustson is a U.S. Army Veteran who discovered art and photography as a form of therapy after serving in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is a gallery represented artist through Hayley Gallery in New Albany OH. His work has been in the Kurt Vonnegut Museum in Indianapolis, The National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago, The Columbus Museum of Art and the National Veterans Museum and Memorial in Columbus, OH. He volunteers for CreatiVets at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to help teach and mentor new Veterans entering into the program.
Kristin (Otterson) Cronic is an artist and United States Naval Academy (USNA) graduate. She has a B.S. in Naval Architecture and was commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer in 2011. She served as a naval officer until 2017, deploying twice on ships.
Kristin pursued an informal art education in her free time. She has dedicated recent years to documenting the midshipman’s journey through painting under the alias “Easel on Stribling,” painting over 150 pieces about USNA. Kristin is the artist behind the National Veterans Memorial and Museum’s current exhibition, A Midshipman’s Journey, on view through November 30, 2023.
She has an M.F.A. in Visual Art from Jacksonville University. She resides in Florida with her husband, Caleb, and their three children.
Adrian Rodriguez is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran who found a variety of art mediums to assist with his therapy after deploying to Iraq in 2005 in Operation Iraqi Freedom. While attending college for Architecture he found a general passion for art and being creative. This led him to participate in a Veteran Program called CreatiVets in Chicago, Illinois.
It gave him the ability to try new mediums and express his trauma through art. He recently had his work displayed at the National Veterans Museum and Memorial in Columbus, Ohio. He is a resident of the greater Columbus area with his wife Emma and their three children.
Rey Cordero is a U.S. Army Veteran and the County Veteran Service Officer for Delaware County, Ohio. He joined the Army in 1989 and was first assigned to 99th Signal BN. He then was stationed with the 546th Transportation CO. 1st COSCOM 18th ABN Corps out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
While with the unit, Operation Desert Shield/Storm started in August of 1990 and Rey’s unit was the first Transportation Company in theater. Serving eight months in theater he returned to Fort Bragg for other deployments until 1994, when he was reassigned to the 824th QM (ABN). After a year he returned to New York City and was assigned to the 773rd Transportation Co. out of Ft. Totten NY.
Will is a U.S. Army Veteran and currently an Operations Manager at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where he works with hospital staff to develop, implement and coordinate effective systems to evaluate and improve patient outcomes and quality care within the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Before coming to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Will worked as an operations leader and continuous improvement consultant in multiple Fortune 100 companies.
Prior to his professional career, he served as a Sergeant in the United States Army where he was responsible for leading a communications team through various technical and tactical installation projects, as well as two deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2018, Will was selected as a Presidential Scholar with the George W. Bush Institute’s Stand-To Veteran’s Leadership Initiative, where he worked with leaders across the country to improve Post 9/11 Veteran outcomes.
In 2019 he joined the Board of Directors for CreatiVets, a non-profit organization that used the arts and music to help disabled veterans cope with service-related trauma. In 2020, Will was selected as a Tillman Scholar by the Pat Tillman Foundation based on his work in improving equitable access to healthcare for children in underserved and high needs areas. Will earned his B.A. in Applied Management and Master’s degree in healthcare administration from Ohio University, and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.
Samantha Fouts is the Exhibitions Associate at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Ever since she was young, she enjoyed studying history and developed a specific interest in military history. Samantha earned her B.A. in History from Ohio Wesleyan University and her M.A. in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. As an Exhibitions Associate, she researches historic artifacts for use by the Museum’s Exhibition team to share the stories of the men and women who serve our nation.
Artists should submit only their original work. Reproductions will not be accepted. Submissions deemed inappropriate or explicit by the judging panel will not be accepted for review.
The finalists are responsible for sending the original artwork to the NVMM. If delivering the original to the NVMM in person, you will receive free admission to the Museum. Artists are responsible for shipping fees if applicable.
Contact Education@nationalvmm.org with any questions.
