Odyssey │Warriors Come Home

Witness the journey home from war. In photographs and cyanotype self-portraits, 75 veterans show us the profoundly and deeply personal impact of combat.

Over the past five years, the veterans of the Odyssey Project have made these intimate photographs. Meaningful images crafted from memory, love, loss, and war. Here they share that meaning and the questions that remain. These images explore the themes of the warrior’s return in an epic visual poem.

Each of the Odyssey Project participants from 2019 to 2023 is represented in these halls and rooms. Together, their voices combine to exclaim a powerful vision of life.

The Odyssey Project was founded by Brendan Bannon to encourage veterans to engage with each other and the world around them in new ways through photography. Provided in partnership with Josephine Herrick Project, CEPA Gallery, The Harlem, Queens and Buffalo Vet Centers and Higher Ground, this program immerses veterans in photographic practice and offers peer and professional support.

Each veteran is given a camera and takes part in a three-month workshop, plus ongoing opportunities to remain engaged. They use photography to communicate with each other—and with audiences for their work—about their experiences.

Generous support for this project has been provided by Josephine Herrick Project, The National Endowment for the Arts, M&T Bank, John R. Oishei Foundation, New York City Council’s Veterans Community Development Initiative through the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and a Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants are part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces® initiative, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance. Cameras provided by Canon U.S.A. Host support from DCTV. Thank you to our program partners, the Harlem Vet Center, the Queens Vet Center, the Buffalo Vet Center and Higher Ground.

Image by Michael Thaxton