Exhibitions
Each exhibition at NVAM is a testament — to what was endured, what was lost, and what endures. These works ask us to look, to feel, and to remember.
On View Now
July 2026 – July 2027
A new series of egg tempera paintings exploring how history, politics, personal story, and the Global War on Terror cycle to inform and impact our lives.
On View Now
A rare window into the visual imagination of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., whose limited edition screen prints reveal the wit, darkness, and humanity of one of America's most beloved authors and veterans.
Ongoing
A rotating selection of works from NVAM's permanent collection, featuring pieces that move between our Chicago gallery and traveling exhibitions to bring veteran voices and experiences to audiences near and far.
On View Now
A new installation created in genuine partnership between the National Veterans Art Museum and acclaimed artist Nick Cave — made with and informed by the veteran community. This is not art made about veterans, but art made alongside them.
Part of NVAM's Permanent History
58,307 individual dog tags — one for each U.S. soldier who died in the Vietnam War — hand-stamped and suspended from the ceiling, arranged chronologically by date of death. Spanning 13 by 34 feet, the tags shimmer like wind chimes as visitors walk beneath them. Created by veteran artists Rick Steinbock, Ned Broderick, Joe Fornelli, and Mike Helbing, Above and Beyond is both a memorial and a public art statement.
Permanent Collection
The NVAM permanent collection holds over 2,000 works created by veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It is one of the most significant collections of veteran-created art in the world — and it continues to grow.
Past Exhibitions
Jenn Hassin
Leopold Segedin
Memory Triggers
N Vision Gallery, Niles, IL, curated by Ned B. Ricks
Steven Luu — curated by Gloria Jiaying Dai
Ron Mann
Dr. Charles Smith
Scene/Unseen
Veterans Day Virtual Tour
Maurice Costello: Back to "The Nam"
Veteran Art Triennial and Summit featuring OPEN/CLOSED
curated by Amber Zora
Original Warrior
Artifacts
The Lost Children of Chon Thanh
Vietnam Transformed: The Art of Richard J. Olsen as Symbolic Reality
Zhou B Art Center
Vietnam—The Defining Moment
Portraits and Memories: Legacies of Service
Jeanine Hill-Soldner
Operation Mom's Couch
Eric J. Garcia
Nerves on Fire: Reflections on World War II and Cuba: Rebels, Orishas, and 26 Julio
George Klauba
Above and Beyond
Harold Washington Library Center
Vonnegut's Odyssey
The Joe Bonham Project: Drawing the Stories of America's Wounded Veterans
Tactical Formations
Surrealism & War
Tenacity & Truth
Welcome Home
National Veterans Art Museum opens at 4041 N. Milwaukee Avenue
National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum opens at 1801 S. Indiana Avenue
exhibitions include The Things They Carried and Trauma & Metamorphosis (2004)
Reflexes & Reflections
national traveling exhibition starting with Washington Project for the Arts
Reflexes & Reflections
Vietnam Veterans Art Group (VVAG) — at N.A.M.E. Gallery
Artist Submissions
Applications for exhibition are accepted annually through the NVAM Artist Fellowship. Learn about our submission policy and how to apply.