Edward Santos came back from Afghanistan with multiple physical injuries and PTSD. At the Newington VA, he discovered art therapy.
“When I first picked up a paintbrush I was very isolated. Through arts I came out of my shell. Art is the best pill the VA could ever have introduced me to,” he says. But painting kept him inside, and he wanted to be even less isolated.
“Photography drew me outside. Almost overnight it became my passion. Art is the best coping tool I can find when I fall into that dark place,” he says.
Santos, who lives in both Newington and Misquamicut, R.I., coaxed other veterans into art therapy and is now a curator, too. He has organized an exhibit of artwork by 15 veterans and their caregivers.
The show will open Thursday, July 14, at Amos Bull House in Hartford.
Sales of artwork will benefit the artists 100 percent. Santos also hopes the show will draw attention to his pet project, “22 to 0 Art for Life.” “Every day, 22 veterans commit suicide. Six guys in my unit committed suicide. I want that number to go down to zero,” he says. He hopes to found a nonprofit foundation by that name, promoting art therapy as a coping tool.
Some of the works in the show have military themes: A flag-motif artwork by Ron Whitehead declares “Remembering is Easy. It’s Forgetting That’s Hard.” But most do not.
“These are artists who just happen to be veterans,” Santos says. Photographic images of Elizabeth Park, Ledge Light in New London, Bushnell Park Carousel, and Santos’ own photos taken in New York City and in Italy, are among the artworks.
Santos emphasized that art therapy is valuable not just in and of itself but as a way to reach out to the public.
“We know our friends and family and VA staff support us. But it’s a different thing when a member of the general public stands in front of one of our artworks and becomes fascinated by it. That’s just the best,” he says.
ART FOR LIFE will open at Amos Bull House, 59 S. Prospect St. in Hartford, on Thursday, July 14, in a reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and runs through Sept. 8. The exhibit and opening is sponsored by CT Landmarks and includes optional tours of the Bull and Butler-McCook houses, and will feature a concert by Red Hot Horns. Free, picnics welcome. esantosstudios.com.
