Bay pines va announces winners of 2024 national veterans creative arts competition | va bay pines health care | veterans affairs

Bay Pines , FL — Today, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System announced that during the 2024 National Veterans Creative Arts Competition (NVCAC), 15 medals were awarded to Veterans who entrust us

with their care. Of those 15 medalists, five have been invited to attend the NVCAC in Indianapolis, Indiana in May of 2025. “It is wonderful to see how many Veterans have chosen to use this

competition on their journey toward recovery,” said Bay Pines VA Interim Director Dr. Amin Elamin. “As a healthcare system, we are consistently striving to ensure that Veterans receive the

quality of care they deserve. This yearly competition is one of the many tools we have at our disposal when it comes to caring for Veterans who live with wounds related to their military

service, both seen and unseen.”  The NVCAC is an annual event that provides Veterans an opportunity to use the creative arts as a form of rehabilitative treatment as they work to recover

from, and cope with, physical and emotional disabilities. Each year, VA facilities across the nation host a local competition that is open to all Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care.

Veterans may participate in the competition in as many categories as they would like, which include but are not limited to painting, photography, dancing, sculpture, and writing.  For the

2024 competition, Bay Pines VA had 135 entries from more than 80 Veterans. The entries from Bay Pines VA’s local competition can be viewed virtually by clicking here. “This competition

provides Veterans so much more than a creative outlet; it provides them an avenue toward healing some of their deepest wounds,” said National Host Site Coordinator for NVCAC - Bay Pines VA,

Erin Todd. “The Veterans I work with come to me with different backgrounds, artistic skillsets, and military experiences but when they begin to create, you can almost see the barriers before

them drifting away.” During the local creative arts competition, each facility selects three finalists in each category. The finalists from each local competition then advance to a national

judging process and first, second, and third place entries are determined in each category. Once judging is complete at the national level, the selected gold-medal-winning Veterans are

invited to attend the NVCAC, which is hosted by a different VA facility each year. “It is exhilarating to have a camera in my hands and see the world through my view finder, where I can

change the ordinary views that people see into the finished artwork that I create,” shared U.S. Navy Veteran Eric Hilton. “Art keeps me centered. It's the greatest thing for my mental

health.”  Bay Pines VA is currently planning this year’s local competition, which will take place in the summer of 2025. Veterans who are interested in participating are encouraged to send

an email to [email protected].