Building Pathways from Service to the Arts

Across our country, veterans are navigating a rapidly shifting labor landscape. In our nation’s capital, where many transition into federal or contractor roles, workforce reductions, policy volatility, and contract uncertainty are narrowing pathways to economic security. At the same time, the arts and cultural sector — a five-billion-dollar ecosystem of museums, theaters, galleries, and creative institutions — faces its own challenges: staffing shortages, disconnection from local communities, and a need for diverse leadership that reflects the nation it serves. Within this tension lies an overlooked truth: veterans possess the creativity, operational discipline, and collaborative skill that cultural institutions desperately need. What’s been missing is a bridge designed to carry them there.

The American Veteran Arts Collective (AVAC) builds that bridge. Through our 10-week workforce accelerator and partnerships with universities and cultural employers, we transform military-earned skills into careers in arts, culture, and creative industries — where service becomes storytelling, and leadership becomes cultural impact. AVAC is forging a future in which veterans continue to serve our nation not in uniforms, but by shaping how our communities remember, imagine, learn, and create. Your support helps ensure that those who once protected our country’s stories now help share them — strengthening both our veterans and the cultural fabric they are uniquely equipped to enrich.

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“AVAC helps veterans continue their mission — this time through creativity, connection, and cultural leadership.”

Fidel GomezTorres

US NAVY Veteran

Founder, Executive Director

A Message from Our Founder

When I left the U.S. Navy, I stepped into civilian life carrying the skills that service had taught me—discipline, mission-focus, resilience, and the ability to build community under pressure. What I didn’t yet understand was that those same skills were creative ones.

They led me into a 15-year career working alongside artists, designers, curators, and cultural leaders. I found myself coordinating global fashion initiatives, producing public programs, helping shape exhibitions, and navigating the business and strategy behind the creative industries. I was no longer serving in uniform, but I was still serving—this time by supporting the people who shape culture.

Along the way, I met countless veterans with that same creative potential. Some had powerful artistic practices. Others had operational talent that museums and cultural institutions desperately needed. Yet there was no formal pathway connecting military skill to creative careers. Veterans were looking for opportunity. Cultural organizations were searching for diverse talent. The bridge simply did not exist.

AVAC was built to change that.

We are creating a future where veterans are not only welcomed in the arts—they are trained, mentored, hired, and recognized as essential contributors to America’s cultural life. We are preparing veterans to thrive in the creative economy, and we are preparing cultural institutions to harness their talent.

The “collective” in AVAC is intentional. Our community—veterans, artists, educators, funders, and institutions—must build this bridge together. If you believe that service continues beyond the military, and that culture is strengthened by those who serve, I invite you to join us.

Let’s build the future of veteran opportunity in the arts. Let’s serve those who continue to serve.