Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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SEVENTH ANNUAL VETERANS ART EXHIBITION WILL FEATURE THE HISTORIC ART OF AWARD-WINNING ILLUSTRATOR DON OLEA

Media Inquiries:

Cheryl Strichik: Cheryl@monthavenarts.org
(615) 293-3767

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (July 8, 2025) – For its Seventh Annual Veterans Art Exhibition, Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center will present a bold selection of historic military illustrations, artworks depicting everything from the Buffalo Soldiers to the Battle of the Bulge. The exhibit, titled Battle Born: Don Olea’s Artistic Journey into Historic Military Art, will also include art created by participants in the MACC’s “Between The Lines” healing arts program. The exhibit runs Aug. 2-31, 2025 and is free.

“Monthaven is honored to showcase the artwork of military veteran and Gallatin resident Don Olea,” says Cheryl Strichik, the MACC’s executive director. “The attention and meticulous detail that he puts into each illustration is a testament to his love of the United States armed forces. We can think of no better representative for our Seventh Annual Veterans Art Exhibition.”

As an Airborne Army veteran (1983-86) and military history buff, Olea has been inspired through his watercolor and digital paintings to honor and tell the story of the service members who came before him. His realism style serves the historical military art genre well and helps to tell their story to fellow veterans, family members and enthusiasts. His goal is to eventually have at least one painting representing every major military conflict from the Revolutionary War to the present. Olea, an award-winning illustrator, is currently a board member of the Nashville Artist Guild, a member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society, and a juried member of the prestigious American Society of Aviation Artists.

Every Veterans Art Exhibition includes a Boots and BBQ Fundraiser, which supports the MACC’s Between the Lines healing arts program for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and major depressive disorder. This year’s fundraiser will be Aug. 2, 2025 at the Bagsby Ranch in Gallatin. The event will be interactive, with attendees participating in art projects led by the MACC’s healing arts facilitators. The Bryson McCarley Good Neighbor Foundation will provide the delicious BBQ. There will also be an open bar and a vibrant art auction to support the healing arts. Grammy Award-winning country artist John Berry will provide the entertainment. Tickets for this worthy cause are $60 each.

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) is a jewel-box art museum and education facility housed in one of Tennessee’s most spectacular antebellum mansions. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the MACC has staged exhibitions featuring everything from the ceramic art of Pablo Picasso to the evening gowns of Princess Diana. The artwork of local artists and military veterans are also on frequent display. As an art school, the MACC offers classes to more than 1,200 children and adults each year. The MACC also provides free arts outreach and healing arts to underserved children, families and military veterans. For more information, visit www.monthavenarts.org or call (615) 822-0789.

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Robin Willis

HEALING ARTS COORDINATOR

Robin Willis is the MACC’s Healing Arts Coordinator. She also works as the Exhibition and Events Manager and Director of Outreach. Robin has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Clemson University with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is a multi-discipline artist with emphasis in writing, mixed media abstract painting, alternative process photography, collage, and book arts and binding. In addition to her art practices, she holds several healing modalities certificates, such as extensive kundalini yoga teacher training and education, Reiki master, systemic family constellation facilitator, and depth psychology-based therapy trainings. As an avid learner, she explores and encourages others in their exploration in art, psyche, and our relationship to the micro and macro worlds within and around us. Influenced by John Muir’s quote, When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe, she fuses art, healing, and organization throughout her work and personal life as a creative-scientist minded person.

Kaylin Warden

Creative Design and Operations Manager

Kaylin Warden serves as the MACC’s Creative Design and Operations Manager. In this post, she oversees the organization’s graphic design work for exhibitions, events and special projects. She also coordinates the MACC’s arts outreach activities and assists with bookkeeping, among other duties. Kaylin, above all, is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.

Ruth Chase

Regional Arts Director
Ruth Chase is the Regional Arts Director of Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, joining the team in 2023. For Ruth, the job is all about community, bringing people together to uplift and educate artists and art lovers alike. Her role at Monthaven is to strengthen the local artist community and build connections that will enrich Hendersonville and our surrounding communities through art exhibitions, art education, and opportunities for regional artists.
 
Prior to joining Monthaven, Ruth worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, curated and juried exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.
 
Ruth was awarded an Artist-in-Residence for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film Belonging screened at both the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. She has received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice award, and she has exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute. Ruth also continues her work as a Curatorial Consultant and Art director for the Californian Indigenous Research Project, where she has worked with the local tribe since 2018. 
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