Women in the United States have been serving in the military, legally, since 1917 during World War I. Although women have been in the military for more than 100 years, veterans like Nancy Bullock-Prevot, the CEO and Founder of The HER Foundation, believe women veterans don’t get the same amount of recognition that men veterans do.
“Whenever holidays where the military is being recognized come around, most campaigns will put up billboards or ads with the service member being a male,” Bullock-Prevot said. “With my organization focusing on women veterans, I wanted to do something to recognize the women veterans here.”
To recognize women veterans in the Pensacola area, Bullock-Prevot created a photography exhibit featuring the portraits of 100 local women who have served in the military. The photography exhibit is called “We See You.” Bullock-Prevot partnered with Kate Treick Photography to capture what women veterans look like in the Pensacola community.
“The main thing is for our women to know we see them and we appreciate them,” Kate Treick said. “Some women served, and they were very visible in their positions. Others served and now they are serving as a mom, a business woman or in some other capacity where their veteran status doesn’t get mentioned very often. Regardless of where a woman is in her life, we just wanted to let them know that we appreciate them and the service they have done for the country and that we see them and acknowledge them.”
Treick said her goal as the photographer for this project was to show the authentic and true version of each woman she photographed. She asked each woman to come to the session dressed for whatever chapter they are in their life, whether it’s a mother, a business woman, etc. Treick said women came in various outfits and some women brought momentos from their service.
Bullock-Prevot was inspired to do this exhibit after she attended the Women in Military Service for America Memorial last year. The memorial displayed photos of women from all of the branches of service doing different things in their occupations. Bullock-Prevot reached out to the artist in hopes of bringing that same exhibit to Pensacola, but she never heard back from the artist. She also reached out to Veterans Affairs (VA) to see if she could get its photography exhibit “I Am Not Invisible,” a photography project that aims to spotlight women veterans, to come to Pensacola. However, Bullock-Prevot never heard back from the VA either, so she decided to start her own version here in Pensacola.
“I think it makes it more personal because it’s women here that are veterans that people get to see,” Bullock-Prevot said. “Rather than me bringing in someone else’s work and other women from across the country, its our own women from right here in Pensacola.”
The exhibit will be during Gallery Night from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on March 20 in the lobby of the Studer Community Institute. The exhibit will be shown again in the same location from March 23-27. The exhibit will also be in the Cordova Mall the whole month of May for Military Appreciation Month.
This exhibit has been paid for through sponsorships, and if any funds are left over after the exhibit, they will be donated to HER Foundation’s The Faith House, which is a home for single female veterans.
“We See You” is still accepting sponsors for the exhibit. If you are interested in being a sponsor, email [email protected]. If you are a woman who has served and would like to be a part of the exhibit, go to katetreickphotography.com, click the “Community Involvement” tab and then “Veteran Portraits.” You can find information about The HER Foundation’s other upcoming events on its website honorher.org