Public, Media Welcome to 2025 Veterans Art Exhibition Opening

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS), in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council, is pleased to announce that the public and members of the media are invited to attend the Grand Opening for the 2025 Ohio Veterans Art Exhibition.

The event is scheduled to begin promptly at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29 in the lobby area directly outside the gallery of the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts in downtown Columbus (77 S. High St.).

The exhibition, which features more than three dozen works by veteran artists from across Ohio, will be on display in the lobby of the Riffe Center directly outside the Riffe Gallery beginning Oct. 21 and will remain viewable through Dec. 6.

The short program will include remarks from ODVS Director John C. Harris Jr.; Cat Sheridan, Director of the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery; and Daniel King, juror for the exhibition. Artists whose pieces are featured in the exhibition have been invited to the program and many are expected to attend.

An art instructor and Air Force veteran, King juried more than a hundred eligible submissions in early September - and had some difficult decisions to make.

"I was immediately struck by the number of different artists whose work embodied deep levels of engagement with both medium and subject," he said. "Selecting one piece over another can be a fraught exercise, and everyone who submitted their work has added complexity and nuance to my understanding of the landscape of veterans in the arts across the state of Ohio. I have a deep respect for every contributing artist - and I am humbled to have the chance to support this exhibition."

To see Daniel King's bio, go to OhioVets.gov.

Media who are planning to attend should contact Jeff Rapp, ODVS Chief Communications Officer, at [email protected] or (614) 728-0235. ODVS will work to accommodate requests to interview any artists, jurors or organizers.

Background on the Exhibition

In total, ODVS received 130 eligible submissions for this exhibition. Those pieces, broken down by medium, are as follows: paintings (58), photography (29), drawings (8), fiber (3), multimedia (10), printmaking (4), ceramics (1), sculpture (8), and others (9). Through the use of a five-star rating system, the juror narrowed the field to an even 40 pieces to fill the display space. Even with those restrictions, the exhibition has works from artists representing five branches of service, different eras, and backgrounds.

ODVS worked with the Ohio Arts Council to produce similar displays in 2016, 2018, and 2023 and has plans to continue the partnership going forward to showcase the many talents of Ohio veteran artists.