Will Davis with The Eichelberger Center for Community Voices tells WYSO listeners about the focus of the new season of Veterans' Voices.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Kenney: You are listening to WYSO Weekend on 91.3 WYSO. I'm Jerry Kenney, as always, thanks for sharing your weekends with WYSO, and we've got someone sharing some studio space with us this weekend, and that is Will Davis. He is the director of the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO. Will, how are you?
Davis: Hi Jerry, happy to be here.
Kenney: Good, and we're glad to have you. So we wanted to talk this week about the work that you're doing at the center, which involves a new season of Veterans' Voices. I remember during the pledge drive, you dropped a couple of hints but said you weren't ready to give us any details. And the time for details has come?
Davis: It is. Veterans Day is Tuesday, and that will be the premiere of this season of Veterans Voices. And this season, you know, the series is 10 years old. I was one of the founding producers 10 years ago. Neenah Ellis and Seth Gordon and myself, we started it. And we didn't know it was going to last 10 years. But it's become popular. It's like one of my favorite things to do. The reason it is is because I learn so much always.
This season is really, really special, I think. We're talking about artists and veterans and where the identities intersect, military service and creativity, so many veterans use the arts as a way to process their experiences, and not just tell their stories but sometimes transform their stories. So yeah, that's what we're talking about.
Veterans Day is Tuesday, and that will be the premiere of this season of Veterans Voices. And this season, you know, this is 10 years old. The series is 10-year-old.
Kenney: The center does several series that are peer-to-peer conducted interviews, veterans talking with other veterans. Is that still the case this season?
Davis: There's some of that, but we also are kind of breaking away from that a little bit. And so not only are we trying different themes, but we're also trying different formats. So I think it's really fun. You know, it's always changing and it's always becoming something new and also something familiar, too. So I think that
People are going to be a little surprised when they hear some of the stories, not only because of the information that we have about artists and veterans... but also how these stories are told. It's in a new and kind of interesting way.
Kenney: So what kind of highlights can you give us for the season without giving away the whole deal?
Davis: Sure. Well, can I tell you about the first episode? There's an exhibit at the Riffe Gallery in downtown Columbus happening right now, which is veteran artists from across the state. So the first episode is at their opening for that exhibit.
A juror named Daniel King, who is an Air Force veteran, is the juror for that exhibition. And we talked to him about the pieces in the show, his own artwork, and what he's learned about veterans who are connecting with each other through the arts. It's a really great episode.
And then from there, we'll meet some individual artists, some of who are participating in the exhibition, and also, we'll learn about some programs that are happening that are specifically focused on veterans in the arts, and some of those programs, like the Veterans Arts Initiative, their mission is suicide prevention. So some of these programs started specifically to address the issue of veteran suicide. We'll learn more about that, too.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to connect with a counselor.
Kenney: This is all pretty interesting when you consider that in the history of creating art, personal experience has played a lot in the art that people do create. So I think these two subjects are very well meshed together.
Davis: I think they are. You know in previous seasons, we haven't focused specifically on this, but once we did and we started to really take a closer look, it absolutely makes sense. I'm super excited, I love all of the stories, I love the seasons, but this one really, really speaks to me in a way that's special, because some of the veterans are using the arts to connect to a civilian audience, but then some of them, too, are using the arts to connect with each other.
And I've learned so much from talking to them and interviewing them and hearing them talk to each other and seeing the art that they create and hearing it. Because that's another wonderful surprise I had is how many different mediums are represented by these artists. They're doing all kinds of artwork and all kinds of different mediums, and it really is fascinating stuff. I know the audience is going to learn so much from this season.
Kenney: Details again on the first episode?
Davis: It will air on Tuesday, which is Veterans Day, November the 11th, during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. And then it will air every Tuesday after that for several, at least six weeks.
Kenney: One question before I let you go. Updates on One Small Step?
Davis: Oh yeah, well, that has been an extraordinary project. It's winding down. We're going to have a wonderful listening event on December the 4th, which is Thursday, at the Downtown Dayton Metro Library. We're going to listen to some of the conversations recorded. Participants are going to meet each other. We're to hear from some of the key figures behind this program.
We've been working on this for almost a year, and we have a lot to celebrate because it's been such a success. And we're creating a series, too, inspired by some of the recordings that we got through this One Small Step Initiative, and you'll be hearing those on WYSO. I have heard many of the conversations, and they are so impactful and so moving. I mean, people really want to talk about what they're experiencing. I think we're seeing the social fabric change because of all the division and the hostility and people want talk about the impact it's having on their families, on themselves, and share their experiences and their wisdom with each other.
So these are great conversations that not only are really interesting to hear and inspiring, but they're helpful because people are figuring out how to deal with it.
Kenney: We'll look forward to that, and we'll look forward to Veterans Day when you can hear the new season of Veterans Voices on WYSO. If you miss it during one of the news magazines, you can find it online at wyso.org. Will Davis with the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices, thank you so much.
Davis: Thank you, Jerry.
