With support from the California Arts Council, the Putnam Foundation (dba Timken Museum of Art) will engage veterans at San Diego Naval Medical Center in weekly Creative Engagement art classes, tours, and events. The outcomes of our programming begin in the classroom and leave with the veteran as they navigate life after the military. Through art, using allegory and metaphor, veterans will gain an alternate voice for communicating what is often too difficult to convey in words.
The following describes our core programs, all provided free of charge:
Exhibitions and lecture series: 3 exhibitions annually that focus on a specific painting in our collection, positioning it in the larger context of works by a master or artistic movement. Each exhibition has a series of morning, afternoon and evening lectures, and daily docent-led tours.
School programs: school tours; teacher workshops for educators to learn how art can connect to their teaching; Outreach Español (Spanish docent-guided tours for Spanish-speaking students); Creative Choices (artist-in-residency program for at-risk students in Juvenile Hall).
Programs for adults, families and visitors with special needs include: tours by trained docents in 8 languages; Family Mural Making Project; Memories at the Museum (docent tours in partnership with USCD’s Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Center); and Creative Engagement (comprehensive art program for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder).

