VA Art Exhibit ~ 2017.12.01

Please join us in the Fort Miley Auditorium (Bldg. 7, Room 112) in San Francisco to celebrate the Worlds AIDS Day through a display of veterans' artwork, photography, and poetry. There will be guest speakers, booths, snacks, door prizes, community resources, and many special presentations for all attendees to enjoy. All Veterans and staff are welcome!

Over the last ten years I have signed up for various research projects at the VA Medical Center and by now have done over 40 projects. The staff knows that I am available for any type of research they may have on the books. SFVAMC has the largest funded research program in the Veterans Health Administration in the country with $90.2 million in research expenditures as of 2015.

This wasn't a research project but was in a a way, used to motivate veterans to perhaps participate in some type of hobby to ease their physical and mental issues. Many told me after the exhibition how working on a project took their minds off their pains.

I currently am on call for the World AIDS Day art exhibitions on December 01, 2017, and besides doing oil painting when I retired, I also do photographs of my world travels. I said I was happy to participate in the exhibition again this year as I was busy and missed the 2016 exhibition.

There is a breakfast starting at nine a.m. and speeches around 11 a.m. and a raffle for gifts.

Patti was nice enough to tell me she would take me to the VA Art Exhibition. She picked me up around nine a.m. and off we went to the VA. While driving we figured out this was our anniversay of being friends! We met 50 years ago at the computer center at Fireman's Fund Insurance and have kept in touch for 50 years!

I setup my exhibit while she had her car valet parked! I told her I was on level 1 at the auditorium. Of course it is confusing as now the first floor is G for Ground. Floor 2 is actually 1. I believe Patti ended up on 2. No one has ever told me how floor 1 became floor G and floor is now floor 1. G used to be the below garage.

We had coffee and chatted with most of the medical staff. Since I do many research projects for aging at the VA, I know many of the staff. They are all so friendly and helpful.

They even had a desk with a representative for access to lawyers for wills, housing and so on. All the services are free for veterans.

The VA had a great setting for the various artist and their works. The tree was gorgeous.

Breakfast was set up at the entrance and coffee, croissants, fruits and other snacks were served.

There were many speakers and we learned a great deal about what was going on with AIDS advancements. One very interesting fact was in San Francisco, about 9,000 women who were HIV Positive and healthy, had babies with little or without the HIV virus. I believe most of the time when a baby when born, they were put on a regiment of AZT and within six weeks the virus was gone. This type of service is carried on by the San Francisco General Hospital.

There were many more speakers to discuss their role in managing HIV patients and some had been at the VA since 1988! They really have a knowledge about HIV and related illnesses!

The audience then was asked to view the art work and discuss with the artists, something about their works. All in all, a nice day.


Chuck Buntjer - Basis Training 1st Platoon - 1963 - Fort Knox Kentucky	Presidio Computer Center - 1964 - San Francisco


Chuck Buntjer - Oil Painings - 2015		Chuck Buntjer - Photos of World Travels - 2017


Vietnam - Halong Bay - 2007		New Zealand - Sheep Ranching - 2013