North Carolina: Arts and Military Video

The North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC) recently produced a video highlighting the value of the arts to the military community. The video, Deployed, showcases scenes from an eponymous theatrical production based on the memoirs, diaries, and other writings and artifacts from veterans of seven different wars from the last century and half. The production is a collaboration between former North Carolina Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti (2012-2014), who began collecting these stories through his signature project of leading writing workshops for veterans and their families, and the nonprofit Touring Theatre of North Carolina. By juxtaposing these stories—about training, combat, prison camps, adjusting to everyday life and more—the play gives voice to veterans and their families and draws out the kinship formed through service to the nation. The four-minute video, posted in honor of Veterans Day, features not only pieces of the performance but also Bathanti and Colonel Pam Harvey, U.S. Army Reserve, the executive director of Arts United for Davidson County and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, talking about the power of the arts to support the state’s large veteran and active-duty military population. To learn more, contact NCAC’s Senior Program Director, Marketing, Rebecca Moore.