>>> THIS MONTH MARKS THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE US-LED INVASION OF IRAQ.

NOW THE VETERAN ART MOVEMENT IS PARTNERING WITH THREE ART INSTITUTIONS TO BRING VETERANS TOGETHER, TO REFLECT ON THIS ANNIVERSARY WITH WORK BY WAR IMPACTED ARTISTS.

>> VETERANS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE GATHERING TO EXPERIENCE ART BY WAR IMPACTED ARTISTS AND SHARE STORIES FROM THEIR TIME SERVING.

>> DIGITAL ART, FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN A LIFESAVER.

IT HAS GIVEN ME THIS OUTLET, IT HAS CONNECTED ME TO THIS COMMUNITY WHICH IS SO IMPORTANT TO HEAR FROM AND CONNECT TO AND RELATE TO.

>> ERIC PEREZ SERVED IN THE EARLY 2000'S, HIS WORK FEATURES PORTRAITS HE TOOK OF VETERANS THAT HE SERVED WITH.

>> PORTRAITS ARE CUT OUT IN VISUAL PATTERNS, THE FIRST LAYER IS THE LAYER CLOSEST TO THE WALL, IT IS COMPOSED OF PHOTOGRAPHS I TOOK DURING THE WAR.

THE SECOND LAYER IS A LAYER OF IMAGES OF THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM THE THINGS THAT KEEP THEM RESILIENT, THINGS THAT KEEP THEM GOING AND SURVIVING.

THE TOP LAYER IS A NEW PORTRAIT I TOOK OF THEM IN THE LAST YEAR FOR THIS PROJECT.

FOR ME, VISUAL ART CAN SAY SOMETHING IN ONE FRAME THAT PEOPLE TAKE ENTIRE BOOKS TO WRITE.

>> AT THE CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER, THIS BLACK VETERAN EXPERIENCE HONORS THE THIRD AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO GRADUATE FROM WEST POINT.

>> HE WAS ALLOWED TO GO INTO WEST POINT WHERE HE EXPERIENCED QUITE A BIT OF RACISM WHILE HE WAS THERE.

BUT, IN SPITE OF THAT, HE SURVIVED AND HE CAME OUT AND HE BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLONEL IN THE COUNTRY , AND LAST YEAR OF 2022, THEY FINALLY PROMOTED HIM FROM KERNEL TO GENERAL, EVEN THOUGH HE PASSED IN 1922.

>> IT WAS CREATED BY SOCIAL JUSTICE ARTIST , SUSAN BERG.

>> I HAVE BEEN USING MY TOOL TO CREATE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, AND TO GET PEOPLE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ISSUES THAT ARE IMPACTING US.

MY OLDEST BROTHER WAS IN VIETNAM AND EXPERIENCED QUITE A BIT OF RACISM WHILE HE WAS IN VIETNAM.

THE SECOND BROTHER WAS IN GERMANY, AND THE THIRD BROTHER SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES.

ALL THREE OF THEM HAD VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES, TO HEAR THEM TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES