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 shopping district in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest Side. History The area's name is from the intersection of three streets—Irving Park Road, Cicero Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue. Its history as an urban c ...

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 a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

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

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 term ...

, 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

dog tags Dog tag is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including i ...

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 or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Art museums and galleries in Illinois Military and war museums in Illinois