Lora Beldon is an American artist, curator, and arts educator.www.lorabeldon.com
/ref> Her primary body of work explores the culture, history, and the effect of combat PTSD on U.S.

military brats A military brat ( colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revi ...

.Emily Fox
“Q+A with Lora Beldon on Creative Healing + Military Families”
Visual Arts Center of Richmond, May 19, 2014Bill Lohmann

''Richmond Times-Dispatch'', September 23, 2013 She is founder of the Military Kid Art Project (MKAP),Military Kid Art Project
(MKAP) which provides customized art programming for military children and teens. She lives and works in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. In 2010, Beldon teamed up with writer/filmmaker Donna Musil,Donna Musil
Writer/Director, ''BRATS: Our Journey Home'', and Executive Director, Brats Without Borders Executive Director of Brats Without Borders,Brats Without Borders
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting military brats of all ages since 1999 to curate ''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show'',''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show''
a contemporary art exhibition exploring the American Military Brat subcultureKari Hawkins
“Artwork Unveils Life of Military Children”
''www.Army.mil, USAG Redstone'', April 9, 2014Karen Jowers
“Mission: Family: Traveling exhibit features art from military children”
''Army Times'', October 25, 2012Naj Wikoff

''Lake Placid News'', October 31, 2014Erika Butler

''The Baltimore Sun'', February 27, 2015 a traveling museum exhibit exploring the life of a military child through art, to educate and raise awareness of the military brat subculture and its life-long impact on an individual. In 2012, ''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show'' was one of six Newman's Own Award winners given to community organizations that break the mold and create innovative programs that improve the quality of life for military families, past and present.''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show'' receive
Newman's Own Award
at Pentagon, September 20, 2012 The award was presented at the Pentagon by the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General

Martin Dempsey Martin “Marty” Edward Dempsey (born March 14, 1952), is a retired United States Army general who served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2011 until September 25, 2015. He previously served as the 37th chief o ...

. ''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show'' has been on exhibit at museums and educational institutions around the country since 2013.''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show'' Tour Schedule
/ref> In 2015, Beldon and Musil co-founded the BRAT Art Institute (BAI), a multidisciplinary art organization for individuals who grew up in military families.BRAT Art Institute
/ref> BAI's first annual Military BRAT Art Camp for military teens will be held at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in the summer of 2016.Military BRAT Art Camp
/ref> The camp was developed and will be taught by professional artists who were also raised in military families. The purpose of the camp is to encourage military teens to explore their feelings and military brat culture through creativity.

Early life

Like most military children, Beldon moved around the country with her Marine Corps family. Her father, Ltc. Tom Beldon (Retired), a folk artist, served two combat tours in Vietnam, the first as an infantry platoon leader, the second as a company commander, and was awarded multiple Bronze Stars.''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show''
See Gallery 3.Tom and Lora Beldon featured i
''Our Own Private Battlefield''
a documentary work-in-progress about the intergenerational effects of combat PTSD on military children. The Beldon family is featured in Brats Without Borders's documentary work-in-progress, ''Our Own Private Battlefield'', about the intergenerational effects of combat PTSD on military children, and how the father/daughter artists have used their art to help heal the wounds of the Vietnam War.

Education

Beldon earned a BFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1989, and returned to VCU in 2005 to study art education.

Career

Beldon served as director and assistant director of 1708 Gallery, one of the oldest artist-run nonprofit galleries in the United States, from 1989-1996, and remains an emeritus member of the gallery. She was art curator for 1708 Gallery's 1991 exhibit ''Richmond for Life'', which brought the work of David Wojnarowicz to Richmond. Wojnarowicz's work would later return to 1708 Gallery in January 2001, after it was removed from the Smithsonian Institution in November 2010 due to its controversial content.Jacqueline Trescott
“Smithsonian deals with fallout over David Wojnarowicz video controversy”
''Washington Post'', December 9, 2010 Beldon was also a member of Richmond, Virginia's punk art group, Urban Artists Amalgamated. Her art has been exhibited across the United States and Europe, with several of her pieces in private, corporate, and public collections.

Exhibitions

Solo

* ''Final Stage'', Hunt Gallery, Staunton, VA (2002)“Lora Beldon Exhibition at Mary Baldwin College”
Mary Baldwin College, November 6, 2002 * "Objects and Obsessions", Coincidence Gallery, Richmond, VA (1999) * "Angels In My Closet", 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA (1994)

Group

* ''UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show'', 2013-present: Hampden-Sydney College, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Old Dominion University, Lake Placid Center for the Arts,

Harford Community College Harford Community College is a public community college in Bel Air, Maryland. It was established as Harford Junior College in September 1957 with 116 students in the buildings and on the campus of the Bel Air High School in the county seat. The ...

* "Silent Night", 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA (2006) * "and the levee broke: meditations on the power of water", C3-Creative Change Center, Richmond, VA (2005) * "The Vietnam War, Art Expressions, Then and Now", The Dairy Barn Cultural Art Center, Athens, OH (2000) * "Mid-Atlantic", Dupont Gallery, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA (1997) * "Diverse Images", Galerie Conti, Bruxelles, Belgium (1995) * "L'Histoire Sud", Bienville Gallery, New Orleans, LA (1995) * "Irene Leach Memorial Exhibition",

Chrysler Museum of Art The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum on the border between downtown and the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler Jr. ...

, Norfolk, VA (1992) * "Choice", A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY (1991)A.I.R. Gallery
New York, NY

References

External links

Lora Beldon Official Website
*
Documentary film, BRATS: Our Journey Home
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Beldon, Lora Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Artists from Richmond, Virginia