Shattered Soldier, by John P. Hornbeck.

John P. Hornbeck

PAWTUCKET Ask Jeff Carpenter how he came to be the driving force behind “Experiencing the War in Iraq,” an ambitious series of Iraq-related lectures, exhibits and performances opening this week, and he says it all started with a chance meeting between a disillusioned artist (Carpenter himself) and an Iraq War veteran named Liam Madden.

“I’d gone to see this guy [Madden] in Boston and had just been blown away,” Carpenter recalls. “He wasn’t one of these armchair critics who’s against the war but doesn’t have any firsthand experience. He’d actually been there and done two or three tours of duty, then turned against the war. He had credibility.”

Still, it was something that Madden said near the end of his talk that really grabbed Carpenter’s attention.

“Right at the end, someone asked Madden why most of the people in the audience were older folks — you know, baby boomers. And he said that young people don’t listen to speeches. To reach them, you need to speak to them in a way that they understand, through things like art and music.”

For Carpenter, a 54-year-old painter and community activist, it was as if a light had just been turned on.

“I thought: ‘Of course.’ Art and music. That’s it. That’s what we’ve been missing.”

Beginning Thursday and continuing through the rest of the month, Carpenter and his fellow organizers will attempt to bring the war home to younger — and older — New Englanders through a combination of art exhibits, musical performances, panel discussions and staged readings and presentations.

Highlights include an invitation-only reception on Thursday, followed by a public reception on Friday night featuring local bands Black Pus, Baba Yaba and Riders Against the Storm. Both events will be held at Machines with Magnets, a new arts space and recording studio at 400 Main St. in Pawtucket.

Carpenter says the two receptions will cater to different audiences.

“It all goes back to the question of what’s the best way to get your message across,” he says. “On Thursday night, we’re hoping to have people like [Providence] Mayor Cicilline and [Pawtucket] Mayor Doyle. That’s the night for talking and speeches. Friday, on the other hand, is geared for a younger crowd.”

Machines with Magnets is one of two exhibit sites associated with “Experiencing the War in Iraq.” The other is the Pawtucket Armory, at 172 Exchange St.

Carpenter says the two venues will features a wide range of work, including prints, paintings, photographs, videos and installations. Because of its size, the armory will take most of the bigger pieces, including an installation of nearly 4,000 hand-painted American flags that will fill most of the building’s 11,000-square-foot first floor.

Created by Vermont artist Lauri Richardson, the installation commemorates American soldiers killed in action since the start of the Iraq War, in March 2003. As of this week, that number stood at 3,976.

“It should be pretty dramatic,” says Carpenter. “So much of the war has been kept hidden that seeing the flags — and knowing that each one stands for an American soldier’s life — really brings the cost of the war home. It’s actually pretty shocking.”

Equally challenging, Carpenter says, is an installation that will be shown at Machine with Magnets.

Created by Boston artist Rebecca Hoyle, the installation consists of a series of fabric banners covered with dozens of commemorative ribbons. Those commemorating American servicemen and women kill in action in Iraq are decorated with tiny stars and stripes. Those commemorating Iraqi civilians killed since the start of war — a far larger number — are painted a drab brown.

“That’s another thing that hasn’t gotten much attention,” Carpenter says. “According to estimates, something like 80,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died during the war. Here, we’re so focused on the number of American casualties. But in many ways, the Iraqis have suffered even more.”

In all, the Armory and Machine with Magnets exhibits will feature the work of 70 artists. Most are based in New England and have followed the war mainly through newspapers, television and the Internet. But Carpenter says that he and his co-organizers — Providence artists Rafael Lyon, Lief Goldberg and Erin Rosenthal — also made an effort to reach out to people who were closer to the conflict, including Iraqis and American military veterans.

One such artist is Wafaa Bilal, an Iraqi-born photographer and installation artist who now teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the early 1990s, Bilal was briefly imprisoned for making art that was deemed critical of Saddam Hussein. After his release, Bilal fled to Kuwait and then to Saudi Arabia, where he spent two years in a Saudi-run refugee camp. In 1992, he was released and emigrated to the United States.

For “Experiencing the War in Iraq,” Bilal and another artist, Shawn Lawson, are creating a multimedia installation called One Chair. Carpenter says the installation, which will be shown at the Pawtucket Armory, will consist of a single chair placed in front of a video monitor. Asked what will be on the video monitor, Carpenter will say only that it will “definitely pack a punch.”

“I don’t want to spoil anything,” he adds. “You’ll just have to check it out.”

Another contributor is John Paul Hornbeck, an Iowa artist and Iraq War veteran who provides counseling services to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Hornbeck’s entry is a skeleton-shaped sculpture made from spent bullet casings, grenades and other pieces of ammunition. The work’s title, Shattered Soldier, refers to the physical and psychological toll the Iraq war has taken on American servicemen and women.

“It’s really an amazing piece,” Carpenter says. “Even in photographs, it’s very strong, very in-your-face.”

In addition to the opening receptions and exhibits, Carpenter and his fellow organizers are planning several other Iraq-related events. Next Sunday, for example, there’s a 3:30 p.m. panel discussion at AS220 in Providence. Panelists include Boston performance artist Krista Caballero, RISD administrator Alan Tracy and Providence printmaker Dan Wood.

Several events are scheduled for March 19, which will mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. From 5 to 7 p.m. there will be a reception and musical performances at Machines with Magnets and the Pawtucket Armory, followed by a 7 p.m. candlelight procession to the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, in downtown Pawtucket. At 7:30 p.m., the action moves to the theater at Slater Mill Historic Site, with performances by Kenny Carnes, Phil Kaye, Franny Choi, Sarah Kay and Amina Massey.

Other events include a collaboration with Providence Gallery Night on March 20 and a closing reception and performance at Slater Mill Theatre on March 27. (For a complete list of events, visit www.reconnectus.org.)

After its run in Pawtucket, “Experiencing the War in Iraq” will move to the Narrows Center for the Arts, in Fall River. Carpenter, who currently lives and works in Fall River, is also looking at potential venues in the Boston area.

“Basically, we’d like to keep as much of the exhibit together as we can,” he says.

Ironically, “Experiencing the War in Iraq” might never have happened if Carpenter hadn’t failed in his first few attempts to attract interest in the project. Initially, he approached several well-established arts venues, including the RISD Museum and Bell Gallery at Brown University, with the idea of them hosting a series of events and exhibits focusing on the Iraq War.

“They all turned me down,” Carpenter says. “I guess they knew how much work it was going to take.”

“Experiencing the War in Iraq” opens Thursday at Machines with Magnets, 400 Main St. in Pawtucket, and the Pawtucket Armory/Arts Exchange, 172 Exchange St. Gallery hours for the armory are Thurs.-Sun. 5-8 p.m. and for Machines with Magnets Thurs.-Sun. noon-6 p.m. For more information, visit reconnectus.org.

bvansicl@projo.com