Breaking the Silence
A Juried Exhibition of Veteran Art
at the Oak Park Art League | August 2026
Some things don't have words. Not because they can't be described, but because language wasn't built to hold them. The weight of a deployment. The quiet after a discharge. The distance between who you were before and who you came home as.
Art can hold what words can't.
Breaking the Silence brings together 30 original works by Chicago-area veteran artists — paintings, photographs, sculptures, and mixed media created by people who know that experience firsthand. The exhibition takes its name seriously: this is not art about veterans. It's art by veterans, made on their own terms, in their own voice.
Throughout August, the Oak Park Art League becomes more than a gallery and exhibition. Artist talks, live performances, and community events run the length of the month — opportunities to hear directly from the artists behind the work, and to understand what it took to make it.
The exhibition is juried by Michael Bever, Chicago Artistic Director of New Century Art Guild; Sergio Gomez, curator and founder of 33 Contemporary Gallery; and Troy J. Muller, Executive Director of New Century Art Guild.
Breaking the Silence is presented by New Century Art Guild, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to transforming veterans' lives through art. Founded by veterans. Open to all.
Free and open to the public. Oak Park Art League | August 2026
The Oak Park Art League’s Emerging Curator Exhibition—
is an opportunity designed to support and showcase curatorial talent while bringing fresh perspectives to our community.
This opportunity provides emerging curators with professional exhibition experience and platform to realize their curatorial vision within an established arts community.
Exhibition dates: August 7 – September 6, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday Aug 8, 1-3pm