John Katerberg, a purple heart recipient, is a combat veteran of Desert Storm and Afghanistan. After being medically retired from the Army in 2013, John returned to Kendall College of Art and Design and earned a B.F.A. in fine art with a painting concentration. Although a lifelong resident of Western Michigan, John moved to Florida…
Walter V. Marshall served in the USMC during the Iraqi war, and he has won three Emmy Awards as a videographer. His military experiences and Christian faith allowed him to balance the difficult concepts of death and sacrifice. Walter uses photography and film to capture perishable moments. The Detroit Institute of Arts featured his early…
Following his military service, U.S. Navy veteran Ron Leigh eventually ended up at Silver Star Apartments, a housing facility for homeless veterans located in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 2013, while attending Kellogg Community College, Ron studied art, and he created a recreational-based program for Silver Star. The program focused on helping veterans develop positive friendships…
Born in the Netherlands in 1947, Frits became interested in art at an early age. His family first immigrated to Canada, and he became a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists at age fifteen. The family later immigrated to the USA, and before becoming a citizen, he was drafted to serve in Vietnam. Self-taught…
As a veteran wife and military mom, I designed a responsive piece called Yellow Ribbon, in partnership with Kent County Veterans Services, to honor our veterans. But this year, my expanding ArtPrize role included coaching twenty-one veterans in creating their own ArtPrize entries at Veterans Memorial Park. Each of these ArtPrize entries tells the veteran’s…
The initial concept for Yellow Ribbon took root, in partnership with Kent County Veterans Services, as we set our sights on ArtPrize 2020. Over the next few months, this community-based work involved ten veteran art workshops across West Michigan. We initially planned six workshops, but the interest level kept growing; veterans and their families felt…