This Veterans Day, the Escalette thanks all service members for their countless sacrifices to ensure our safety and freedom. In their honor, today we feature a work by a veteran artist in the Escalette Collection and reflect on the unique ability of art to help us connect with others’ viewpoints and experiences with empathy and respect.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, artist Yvette Pino enlisted in the army and served two tours in Iraq. In 2010 she founded the Veteran Print Project, which pairs veterans with printmakers to share veterans’ stories through art.  From the start, the Project was a way to communicate complex and often ambiguous experiences, as well as to advocate for improved outcomes. Pino reflects, “If you can get the young veterans to start communicating… we have stronger historical documentation. Maybe we can solve some of the issues people come back with…You can’t make systems better, and you can’t document what’s good if no one talks about it.” (Interview with Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times, 6 Sept. 2015).

Read more …