National Programs

Military Creative Arts Initiative

About

The Military Creative Arts Initiative seeks to improve the well-being of serving members, Veterans, and their families through community-based creative arts activities.

Background

Across Canada, Veterans and their families are supported by clinical services, employment and transition programs, peer networks, and community-based organizations. Yet many people continue to experience isolation, loss of purpose, and difficulty reconnecting during and after military service.

Creative arts engagements, such as visual art, music, writing, theatre, dance, and crafts, offer accessible ways for individuals and families to connect, express themselves, and connect with their community. But these efforts were often fragmented, unevenly evaluated, and not consistently connected through shared learning.

In 2021, the Military Creative Arts Initiative (MCAI) was formally launched by True Patriot Love, with the support of Veterans Affairs Canada and RBC, to strengthen evidence, build shared understanding, and improve coordination across the sector.

Our Goals

The Military Creative Arts Initiative seeks to improve the well-being of serving members, Veterans, and their families through community-based creative arts activities. This initiative integrates funding, evaluation, partnerships, and research to better understand how participating in creative arts engagements can foster social connections, offer meaningful experiences, and promote a sense of belonging.

From April 2021 to March 2026, the Military Creative Arts Initiative focused on five integrated activity streams:

Funding community-based creative arts engagement through multiple funding cycles
Building an evaluation and learning approach aligned with Canadian Veteran well-being indicators
External evaluation of 14 community-based organizations
Enabling collaboration across sectors by hosting learning circles and peer exchange among funded partners
Research and knowledge mobilization in collaboration with academic partners

Key Outcomes

Since 2016, True Patriot Love has distributed over $1.5M in creative arts grants across Canada, directly benefiting over 8,200 individuals and indirectly impacting an additional 13,200.
Among these, True Patriot Love funded 14 community-based creative arts grants to participate in an evaluation with experts from the arts and culture sector and two research studies were conducted to enhance the evidence base regarding the creative arts in Canada.
The impact of the fourteen programs in the evaluation significantly surpassed the initial participation targets indicating a strong demand for creative arts programs catering to Veterans, active service members, and their families.
The evaluation indicated that 90% of participants were very satisfied with the programs. Participants reported positive socio-emotional outcomes, developed creative skills, and had valuable opportunities to connect with others. Overall, 93% of respondents stated that the program helped them feel less isolated and facilitated the formation of new connections.
The MCAI evaluation included funding for both arts and military organizations. The diverse mix of organizations strengthened the Initiative by encouraging cross-sector knowledge sharing, connections and collaboration.
The MCAI included engagement with a wide range of artists, therapists, and individuals from the military and academic communities across Canada to better understand how the creative arts can support recovery and rehabilitation.
With the learnings from the MCAI, True Patriot Love developed a framework and recommendations for community programming and the role of the creative arts in the rehabilitation and recovery of Veterans and their families.

"The confidence to express what’s inside you is the root of all art. And by sharing it, you gain more confidence."

Creative Warrior is an art engagement program designed to use artistic expression and community to enhance the lives of Canadian military members, Veterans, and their families.

Resources

Learn more about True Patriot Love’s Military Creative Arts Community Grants