Craig Schilling // Writer // Army
Craig Schilling is a Veteran Artist and a returning contributor to ANVAM
When you're running on empty, reluctance can creep in, alongside self doubt. At Craig’s lowest point, he admits to feeling like he was “living an empty life”, sleeping through the day and drinking heavily while watching TV until the early morning.
He'd actively engaged with support tools and organisations in an effort to shift the space that he was in, but it was hard. Through Open Arms Peer Support he became familiar with ANVAM. Through discussion between an Open Arms Peer Support Worker and an ANVAM team member, Craig was invited to visit the ANVAM gallery and look into opportunities for creative writing, something he had enjoyed in the past.
Despite this invitation, Craig was very reluctant to visit ANVAM, professing he had nothing to write about. When he did decide to visit, Craig sat down to write. There was no pressure to perform, no expectations, just an invitation to see what might emerge on the page.
An hour later, Craig had written a one-page story about his effort to battle depressive thoughts before coming into ANVAM. This story was later published in ANVAM’s quarterly journal The Tangent titled “The Empty Nothing”.
Over time, Craig began attending more ANVAM events, in particular the Festival of Veterans Arts 2026 (FOVA26). A weekly pattern emerged. A place to go. A community he belonged to. A reason to show up.
With support from a university student conducting placement at ANVAM, Craig underwent drama therapy, re-writing and crafting his poems and vignettes. This deepened his practice. His writing was then featured on a dedicated page in The Tangent, “Vignettes by Craig”, cementing him as a dedicated writer within the community.
ANVAM engaged with DVA to fund Craig’s participation in a weekly Creative Mentoring program. During this program, he decided to pursue writing his first book.
During FOVA26, Craig participated in a creative activity each day of the program. This regular arts engagement helped Craig find his voice and tell his story in his own way.
“Without this regular interaction with the arts, I would have remained lost in my own emptiness. The arts remain central to my overall wellbeing,” he says.
Since publication of his first book, Craig continues to visit ANVAM regularly, engaging with staff and fellow Veteran Artists and working on book number two: his own life story as a gift to his son. Writing is now a regular part of his life, at ANVAM and at home. While the wellbeing journey continues to have its twists and turns, Craig has ongoing access to a community and a space in which he feels connected and at ease. This is not a one-size-fits-all program with a time limit. It was arts engagement that was bespoke to Craig’s needs and it is access to the Veteran Arts Community for as long as it serves him well.
Craig's journey shows what’s possible when people have access to a supportive community and a safe place in which to explore their chosen creative practice. ANVAM provides that place and that community. It is a place where members of the Veteran Community find their thing, meet new people and discover they’re part of something that matters. It’s foundational work. Quiet. Sustained. And the impact ripples far beyond the person holding the brush or pen. It changes individuals. It strengthens families. It builds community and fills the empty nothing.
