MUST l SEE By Donna Musli
The Art
of Being a B.R.A.T.
he easiest way to understand a culture is to look at the art of that culture. Listen to their music. Watch their films. But first you have to know where to find that art. And if you’re a military B.R.A.T. (or Third Culture Kid), that’s not an easy thing to do. There are no academic studies or museums focusing solely on military children. There is no “Military B.R.A.T.” or “TCK” section in your local library. An estimated five percent of the U.S. population grew up in a military family, but there is not one television show dedicated to our subculture. Which is why the nonprofit organization BRATs Without Borders and the Military Kid Art Project founded the B.R.A.T. Art Institute in 2016, and later this year, BAI will open the first library devoted to collecting the art, literature, poetry, music, film and performance art of military brats and TCKs around the world. Housed in an Attached Traveler Property studio in Richmond, Va., the library will also gather educational studies and dissertations pertaining to military B.R.A.T.s and TCKs that are languishing in the backrooms of who- knows-howmany universities. As poet-playwright Marcus Gardley said so eloquently: “Art is the most profound way in which a group of people can understand their culture and other
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Spring 2019
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www.CultursMag.com
Above: Donna Musil, 13, the eternal outsider, at an outdoor skating ring in Taegu, Korea, 1973. Right: Donna Musil, 14, on the cheerleading squad at Taegu American High School in Korea, circa 1974. Below: UNCLASSIFIED co-curators Lora Beldon and Donna Musil with Montel Williams at the Pentagon ceremony after receiving the Newman’s Own Award.
