The Odyssey Workshops: Picturing Life After Combat
Free photo workshops for veterans at Flower City Arts Center
Flower City Arts Center will host a free, 12-week intensive photography course for post-9/11 combat veterans starting September 5, 2025. Classes are held on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. through December 10 at Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Avenue, Rochester.
The struggles that U.S. combat veterans face as they reintegrate into society are largely misunderstood and rarely communicated by those immersed in the experience.
The Odyssey Workshops offer combat veterans and survivors of military sexual trauma (MST) a new tool to navigate the road home from service. Founded in Buffalo in 2019, The Odyssey Project offers free photo workshops for vets in Buffalo, New York City, and now at Flower City Arts Center in Rochester.
Through photography and writing, veterans are invited to explore the return home from their perspective. Participants will work together to make pictures that illustrate life in and out of uniform. This is a unique opportunity for veterans to share their stories among a group of peers, and create artwork that reflects the past and present.
Previous participants celebrate the impact photography has on processing the journey home from war.
In the words of Dan Mitchell: “I’m an Army medic combat veteran, and this opportunity to address thoughts, feelings, and emotions relating to my military service through photography is healing in unexpected ways. The most impactful realization for me so far in this program is the requirement to slow down and really see what’s there. This may sound simple enough, but taking the time to translate difficult memories and emotional complexes into an intentional photographic image is a surprisingly valuable experience.”
The project is led by photographers Brendan Bannon and Christopher Cilento. Bannon’s work has appeared in the New York Times, and has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and at UN headquarters. Chris Cilento, a retired U.S. Army veteran with multiple combat deployments, has exhibited throughout Rochester and holds an MFA from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester.
Spaces are limited. To apply, please contact bbannon1@gmail.com with ‘The Odyssey Workshops’ in the subject line or complete the application at flowercityarts.org/classes/odyssey-project-2025.
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