During the summer months, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities hold local Veterans Creative Arts Festival competitions. Categories include visual arts, writing, dance, drama, and music. Most VA facilities conduct the local competitions between May and August — right now, veterans are anxiously waiting for results at the end of the year to find out if they are invited to the 2025 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in Indianapolis. 
 
The VA uses the creative arts as a form of rehabilitative treatment to help veterans cope with PTSD, military sexual trauma, and more. 
 
Winning entries at the local level advance to the national judging process. First place winners are invited to attend the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, an annual event co-presented by the VA and the national American Legion Auxiliary. 
 
U.S. Army veteran Nancy Frideres from the Memphis, Tenn., VA facility, won first place as an artist in mosaic kit for Seize the Day. Frideres served during the Cold War.   
 
Would you like to share about your military service? 
I was in military intelligence. It was really fascinating. I worked on electronic warfare signal intelligence. I had many opportunities to work some highly classified missions, so I was extremely thrilled to serve in the military. 
 
Was this your first time entering the Festival at the local level?
I knew nothing about the national Festival the first time I exhibited my art at the VA. I just thought it was a local thing. Then when I found out about it, I had won first place in two categories and third place in another category, and then we hit COVID. Then our VA didn’t participate. So last year was my first year to truly participate, and when I got selected, I was so over the moon. 
 
I fulfilled my dream of being here. If you had asked me that five years ago when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I didn’t think I would even still be here. 
 
What was this Festival experience like for you?
It is definitely something to strive for. I am so amazed at how wonderful the camaraderie is, and everyone on staff — the ALA, the VA — you anticipated every possible need we could have, and it was amazing. It’s been an amazing journey. I am so proud to be an American veteran, and I am so honored to be here. 
 
Describe what your artwork looks like. 
I grabbed a kit that appealed to me. We have a pond in front of our house. And we have Canadian geese. And I’ve always wanted to go to Italy and ride in a riviera boat. We have deer that stray across the farm, and we have ducks on our pond. I have rescue horses and rescue dogs. So, when I saw this picture, I really connected. I could not hold or control a paintbrush because I just had two hand surgeries and I was in rehab, but I could control a pin. You are going straight down. You can do it at an angle, but generally you do straight down. You can dip it. You put wax on it and pick up a diamond. It took me between 60 and 70,000 individual diamonds for this picture. It took three and a half months. 
 
The national Festival is often described as a therapeutic and healing week. Would you agree? 
It is and I have really connected with people and unfortunately, I made a few people cry, and I didn’t mean to. I also played some of my songs that I have written that I’ve given away to veterans organizations and 501(c)(3)s. 
 
For someone who hasn’t competed yet at the local Festival level, do you have any advice?
I would tell them a lot more than what I’ve been telling them. You really need to be part of this family. So go compete; it will make you feel better. It’s something really special when they put a medal around your neck. I will encourage every veteran I see to go sign up for rec therapy, go compete, and the ladies I meet with on Tuesdays, I think they might be motivated when they see my two medals and when they hear about all my wonderful experiences — maybe it will encourage them.
 
Is there anything else you want to add?
Thank you to every single person who made this possible. It was the most wonderful experience I’ll probably ever have in my life. It gives me some sense of not being so broken. I just want you to know it helps mend some of those broken places. The staff here, the volunteers — every single person who made this possible — I can’t thank you enough because you made my dreams come true.