The Geography of Wounds and Healing Through Art

The Geography of Wounds and Healing Through Art: A Conversation on Veteran Art, Memory, and Peacebuilding

Presented by Mason Exhibitions 

Military service is often made visible through uniforms, ranks, rituals, and institutional structures. Yet the emotional, psychological, social, and moral dimensions of service—and the wounds that persist beyond the battlefield—are often more difficult to recognize and locate. In a world marked by increasing fragmentation, polarization, and social division, understanding these experiences becomes an important part of building more empathetic, resilient, and democratic communities.

This panel, organized by Mason Exhibitions, brings together curators and participating artists from a trilogy of veteran art exhibitions on view across George Mason University's three Northern Virginia campuses during Fall 2026. Through artistic practices, storytelling, and public programs, these exhibitions explore the complex geographies of memory, trauma, care, identity, and healing stemming from the Vietnam War up through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The panel will examine how art can function as a form of witness, dialogue, peacebuilding, and lifesaving.

Panelists will discuss key questions emerging from the exhibitions:

• How do veteran artists visualize wounds that are emotional, psychological, social, or moral rather than purely physical?
• What role can art play in healing, remembrance, and community-building?
• How can artistic practice foster dialogue across generations, social and cultural backgrounds, and experiences of conflict?
• In what ways do exhibitions generate public spaces for understanding the human consequences of war and the possibilities of peaceful societies?

The conversation will feature the curators and artists involved in three major veteran art exhibitions:

1. As You Were

• Gillespie Gallery, Fairfax Campus
• Curated by CAP (Ret.) Moira McGuire, former Director of Healing Arts Programs at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, this exhibition features seventeen veteran artists, including a Gold Star spouse and a caregiver. Through diverse artistic practices, the exhibition reflects on service, sacrifice, resilience, caregiving, and the ongoing journey of life after military service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

1. What Remains?

• Mason Exhibitions Arlington
• Curated by artist Cheryl Edwards, this exhibition brings together intercultural artists who served during the Vietnam War. Drawing from both public and private collections, the exhibition explores memory, witness, loss, and the enduring impact of war across generations and communities.

1. In Her Image: Art by Women Veterans

• Buchanan Partners Gallery, SciTech Campus, Manassas
• Curated by Steven Luu, this exhibition examines the evolving experiences of women in military service. Through artworks by women veterans, including works from Mason Art Collection, the exhibition highlights questions of visibility, leadership, representation, and belonging within military and civilian life.

These exhibitions reveal how art can help map the often-invisible landscapes of veteran experience while opening pathways toward healing, understanding, and peace. By examining the intersections of memory, care, identity, and community, the panel contributes to broader conversations about how societies can address the afterlife of war, wounds, and healing through art. 

Speakers: 

• Donald Russell, Director, Mason Exhibitions & Provision Library for Art & Social Change Moira McGuire, CAPT, former Chief of the Arts in Health Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
• Cheryl Edwards, Curator & artist
• Steven Luu, Curator, artist, & former combat medic
• Soojung Paek, PhD student, Cultural Studies