Consent Preferences
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Gray handmade paper from military uniforms hanging on a white gallery wall with binder clips, first pieces has mixed letterpress text that says "Welcome Home Soldier"
 

“52 Reasons to Love a Vet:” Fund Gifted to Frontline Arts from Ella Rue and Bob Eyet for Veterans’ Opportunities in Art

Frontline Arts is very pleased to announce the gift of a Veterans’ Opportunities in Art and Art Education Fund to help support Veteran Residencies and our Frontline Paper Program.

Ella Rue and Bob Eyet generously gifted the “52 Reasons to Love a Vet” fund, via Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation, Inc, (along with the full collection of original artwork by world-renowned artists and illustrators and supporting merchandise) in 2021. This much-needed funding will allow us to bring further support to our Frontline Paper Program plus other educational opportunities for veterans looking for a full immersion in techniques based in papermaking, printmaking and other social arts practices, virtually and in our studios. Read the Full Press release by clicking here.

Veteran sitting pensively with uniform half cut off of their body

Veteran Residency Application

2022 Resident Artist, Mark Oldland, spreading neon green ink on a silk screen before printing.

2022 Veteran Resident Mark Oldland

2023 Resident Artist, Amber Zora, holding a squeegee, printing black ink through a screen printing screen

2023 Veteran Resident Amber Zora

The funding for Veterans Opportunities in the Arts and Arts Education at Frontline Arts can be used for residencies, workshop scholarships, editions, studio time and more. The 2024 Residency Application is currently closed. Fill out the interest form below to be the first to hear when the 2025 application opens.

Read on for more information from the last residency cycle.

The residency can be completed any time between May and December. It can be in-person or virtual/remote. Awarded residents also have the option to be recommended for an additional, separate residency at Monson Arts in Maine. See details by clicking here.

Read our Blog interview with 2023 Veteran Resident Amber Zora by clicking here. View the 2023 Veteran Residency Q&A with Mark Oldland and Frontline Arts staff by clicking here.

Frontline Arts will provide residency/scholarship assistance up to $4,000 from the Veterans Opportunities in the Arts and Arts Education Fund. This will be given to veterans who demonstrate need, are eligible as defined below, who fully and accurately complete this application and are approved by Frontline Arts. All funds can be applied towards various expenses for travel, housing (please note that Frontline Arts does not provide housing accommodations), Frontline Arts workshops, studio use and studio services such as contract printing, and the remaining balance (if any) and materials (if needed) must be paid for and obtained by the applicant in order to complete the class enrollment, project or residency. It is also expected that the resident engage in some way with the community, whether it is a presentation, open studio, event or workshop.

Eligibility: This scholarship and residency is available to any veteran who proposes a compelling project and need.

Frontline Arts reserves the right to deny any requests deemed not eligible or incomplete.

Not sure how to write a budget? We made a template to help you! Download and complete the budget sample template to generate a detailed, project specific budget for your residency application. Please note that this is an example, and several items listed may not apply to your project.

DATES TO REMEMBER (Previous Residency Cycle):

February 1, 2024 at Midnight                      Deadline to Apply

First Week of March, 2024                          Applicants Notified

May 1-December 20, 2024                           Residency completed within this period

Have any questions? Please email rachel@frontlinearts.org

You can also view the YouTube Q&A video we recorded in Februrary 2022 and the 2023 Veteran Residency Q&A with Mark Oldland and Frontline Arts staff, but we have changed some aspects of the application form since then.

 
 

2024 Veteran Residency Awarded to Joe deVera

 
Installation art piece. Inludes Wood, parachutes, sails, concrete and found materials. Guns are lines against the walls and a flag reads 3141

And All The Kings Men by Joe deVera

 

Frontline Arts is pleased to announce Marines Corps veteran, artist and professor, Joe deVera, as the third awardee of our Veteran Residency Program, at our studios headquartered at 440 River Road in Branchburg, NJ. In Spring of 2021, Ella Rue and Bob Eyet generously gifted the “52 Reasons to Love a Vet” fund, via Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation, Inc, (along with the full collection of original artwork by world-renowned artists and illustrators, and supporting merchandise) to support Veterans’ Opportunities in Art and Art Education via the Frontline Paper Program.

About Joe deVera:

Joe deVera lives in St. Louis, MO, where he works as an Assistant Professor at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art at Washington University. His paintings and installations are attempts to examine the possible relationships between historiography and art objects while simultaneously investigating the aftermath of mass conflict. Having emigrated from the Philippines as a youth and enlisting in the Marines Corps after high school — serving two combat deployments to Iraq in support of the Second Gulf War/GWOT (with 1st and 4th Tank Battalion) — deVera’s works are also autobiographical observations of power structures and the machines of empire.

2023 Veteran Residency Awarded to Amber Zora

 
Welcome to Rocketown #2 by Amber Zora. Monoprint in black ink with sheer pentagon/ house shape in center with cursive words over the whole print.

Welcome to Rocketown #2 by Amber Zora

 

First 2022 Veteran Residency Awarded to Mark Oldland

 
Purple and yellow digital painting with black splatters and marks - abstracted view of a splashing, jumped in puddle

Puddle Jumping #8 by Mark Oldland

 

Donations to Support the Fund

Those who wish to support future Residencies through the Veterans Opportunities in the Arts and Arts Education Fund can donate to the fund directly by clicking here,

as well as through the purchase of limited-edition, signed reproduction prints, signed and unsigned books, and playing cards (that were created for the original “52 Reasons to Love a Vet” fund) in our online store. These donations and proceeds from purchases will go directly into the fund to support future residencies and scholarships for veterans.

 
 

History of the 52 Reasons to Love a Vet Fund

The video above was created by Michael Caniglia-Robiolio, at the artists’ reception for the 52 Reasons to Love a Vet gallery show held at New Jersey City University on February 18, 2016. [Read comments that were provided by the attendees when the show was on display at The Hunterdon Art Museum.] You can also see Ella Rue speak at the 52 Reasons/Frontline Paper 10-Year Anniversary Exhibition reception at Frontline Arts on October 23, 2021 by clicking here, starting at 23 minutes in.

“My son, Justin Eyet, served two tours of combat duty: one in 2008 in Iraq and one in 2011 in Afghanistan. He was a 20-year-old National Guardsman when he was assigned to the Army’s 25th Infantry, fighting insurgents in northern Iraq. He saw and experienced things no mother would ever want her son or daughter to see or experience, and returned home with baggage he found great difficulty in handling. When he returned home he was a different person. He was withdrawn and kept to himself. He has made multiple attempts to complete his education but has had difficulty staying focused. At some point, and we are unsure where, when or how, he contracted MRSA, a blood infection that if left unattended could be deadly. He bounced in and out of the VA (Veterans Affairs) hospital and on his 26th birthday, while still in medical quarantine, the VA hospital released him suggesting that he find a private rehab to assist him. They instructed us that since they could not ascertain that his condition was related to his military service, the VA was not responsible for his treatment. The fact that it was his birthday is of great consequence, as this timing also coincided with the rolling out of the Affordable Care Act, and that he would be removed from my insurance. We were certain there would be no private rehabs that would accept him without insurance, and at that time he hadn’t secured coverage.

At that time I was serving on the Board of Trustees here at Raritan valley Community College. Bob Wise, CEO and President of Hunterdon Healthcare also serves on that board. I did what any mother in my situation would do. Without shame or hesitation I asked Bob if he would help my son. Upon hearing of the situation, without a second thought Bob said he would be happy to have his top infectious disease specialist care for Justin. We would sort out the coverage later. Thankfully, Justin is now fine and will be fine, as he has parents who have the resources to ensure his health and well-being. Once Justin’s MRSA was in remission it occurred to me: “What of all the other ‘Justins’ who may not have a parent with a connection to a CEO of a medical facility? Who will help them? What of all of the other enlisted men and women who return home and are simply denied services? Who are they to call on for help?” And thus 52 Reasons to Love a Vet was conceived. I returned to Bob Wise’s office yet another time, this time no longer in a panic, but instead excited and eager to pitch a project with the hope that he would see merit in the idea and support it. I had already done a call out to many of my artist friends asking if they would create and donate a piece of original art to be used for a deck of cards, limited posters, and limited books for selling, with the originals being shown at receptions such as this one, and gallery shows to help raise awareness with the ultimate hope of policy change. I was truly humbled by their responses. Artist after artist responded with a resounding yes, telling me they would be honored and proud to be involved with such a project.

All too often veterans return home and are unable to find or simply denied these services. As a society, we should feel compelled to rectify this situation. ”
— Ella Rue

“52 Reasons to Love a Vet” originated as a fund solely benefitting veterans by financially assisting them in furthering their education and/or assisting with medical, dental or mental health resources. This fund has been supported by many world-renowned artists and illustrators who each created and donated an original editorial visual statement illustrating their thoughts on either war or veterans. “52 Reasons to Love a Vet” was a restricted fund housed in the Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation.

Limited edition playing cards, prints and books were created for sale, with all sales going to benefit this fund. Additionally, if you would like to host a fund and awareness raising reception, where we can display the original artwork, please feel free to contact ron@frontlinearts.org.

HISTORY OF PRESS RELEASES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

52 REASONS TO LOVE A VET ART COLLECTION

Listed below are the generous artists who have donated their artwork, in effort to assist in raising funding for 52 Reasons To Love A Vet. You can easily read additional information about these artists (that are listed below) by either clicking on their name or the thumbnail of their contributed artwork.

For inquiry on loan of the collection for exhibition, contact ron@frontlinearts.org

Your contributions allow us to continue working on the front-lines of artmaking.

Please consider making a donation.

 

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