The National Veterans Art Museum, formerly the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, located at 4041 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago's

six corners Six Corners is a geographic term in Chicago due to Chicago's unique rectangular grid street system which is cut by a handful of diagonal streets, and therefore numerous intersections within the city contain six corners. "Six Corners" in in t ...

neighborhood, is dedicated to displaying and studying art produced by

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and other wars and conflicts. Originally a traveling exhibition, while in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

it was viewed by Mayor

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

, who was so taken by the power of the art that he immediately insisted that the city provide a permanent home for it. The entrance hall had 58,226

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hanging from the ceiling, representing the US soldiers who died in Vietnam. It and the other exhibits have been described as deeply moving.

History

The National Veterans Art Museum is the result of efforts of the Vietnam Veterans Art Group, formed in 1981. The group built a following almost immediately after their first show, ''Vietnam: Reflexes and Reflections'', which opened in October 1981. With increasing popularity and press, the Group grew; veterans from all over the United States began to send in work to be displayed. In 1996 the Vietnam Veterans Art Group established a museum, the only one of its kind at 1801 S. Indiana Ave in Chicago's South Loop.

Mission

The museum's mission is to inspire greater understanding of the impact of war through the collection, preservation, and exhibition of art created by veterans of all U.S. military conflicts. The museum displays military and artistic heritage, helping civilians and veterans make connections across diverse ranges of experience. With nearly 2,500 works of art by more than 250 artists, the museum offers visitors of all ages and backgrounds insight into war from the viewpoint of people who were physically and emotionally involved in military conflicts. In addition, the museum provides an artistic outlet for veterans to work through and express their combat and military service experiences.

References

{{authority control Museums in Chicago Vietnam War museums

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Art museums and galleries in Illinois Military and war museums in Illinois Cultural institutions and organizations in Chicago