Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network works to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers. Read more about us.

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Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network

Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs that seeks to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers.

Creative Forces places creative arts therapies at the core of patient-centered care at clinical sites throughout the country, including telehealth services, and increases access to community arts activities to promote health, well-being, and quality of life for military service members, veterans, and their families and caregivers. Creative Forces is managed in partnership with Civic Arts, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Learn more about Creative Forces
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From Drills to Dance

Stories that vibrate in the bones

Exit12’s mission is to heal the veteran and military-connected community, educate civilians, and advocate for veterans’ issues. Through movement workshops, performances, and presentations, Exit12 investigates the military experience. Programs explore the service member, the family, the perceived enemy, shared humanity, homecomings, and trauma.

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Creative Forces programs

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Clinical Program

The Creative Forces Clinical Program brings creative arts therapies to military patients and veterans who are receiving care at Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs facilities across the nation.
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Community Engagement Program

The Creative Forces Community Engagement Program supports community-based programs and activities that enable military-connected people to experience and create art.
A dance therapist and her patient are shown walking in profile in a clinic. The patient has an artificial leg and is wearing black shorts.

Impact

Across our programs, Creative Forces invests in research and evaluation to understand the impacts and benefits of creative arts therapies and community engagement opportunities for military-connected people.

Our 2024 Community Engagement Grant application period is now closed.

Stay tuned for our new grant announcement in June.

Learn more about our 2023 grant projects!
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Explore our clinical research

To date, Creative Forces has published 26 peer-reviewed research papers covering a variety of topics related to creative art therapies in a clinical setting. We have made all publications available free of charge for any researchers, CATs, or others interested in learning more.

Clinical Peer-Reviewed Publications Inventory

News & resources

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