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Artist and A4J grantee partner, Mary Baxter, wearing one of her own T-shirt designs. Photo by Erin Baiano.

COMMUNITY BULLETIN 11.07
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** COMMUNICATIONS DISPATCH
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Welcome to the next to last Art for Justice Fund newsletter. For 6 impactful years, A4J has engaged with artists, advocates, and allied donors to interrupt mass incarceration. The Fund supported grantee partners to secure policy change and shift narratives through art. We’re proud to have helped fortify individual leaders and organizations to transform the broken criminal legal system and the racial bias that drives it.

Many are familiar with the Fund’s origins. In 2017, founder Agnes Gund contributed $100 M from the sale of a favorite painting. In collaboration with Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, A4J launched what was anticipated to be a 5-year grantmaking program. Agnes and fellow board member, Darren Walker, raised an additional $27+ M to extend the Fund’s efforts by 12 months. Being a time-limited initiative was always the intended strategy. It enabled A4J to make deeper investments and support field building among artists, advocates, and allied donors.

In its lifetime the Fund was required to respond to pressing needs in real time (e.g., the Covid crisis inside prisons and jails, opportune state-based ballot measures). Upon its sunset, over 450 grants totaling $127 M were made. Is mass incarceration over? No, but major policy victories have been secured and narrative/cultural change was advanced using art. A vibrant group of justice system impacted people, artists, advocates, and donors are aligned to continue building a future of shared safety for all. The work must continue and each of us has a vital role to play.

A4J’s LeAnne Alexander at the Fund’s closing event with donors Clarence Otis, Jr. and Jacqueline Bradley. Photo by Erin Baiano.
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** NEW A4J EVALUATION FINDINGS
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A4J has long recognized the importance of rigorous evaluation in our mission to effect positive change. Since 2018, we have partnered with Engage R+D and Center for Evaluation Innovation to evaluate and glean valuable insights from our work. Their approach, rooted in developmental and equitable evaluation, prioritizes real-time insights, documenting progress toward outcomes, and sharing lessons to enhance A4J’s impact while contributing to the wider field.

Over the past six years, our collaborative efforts have yielded a wealth of reports, presentations and discussions. These resources have been regularly disseminated to grantee partners, generous donors, committed board members and other allies. To make this wealth of knowledge more accessible, Engage R+D is now assisting us in archiving seminal evaluation documents on A4J’s legacy website.

Our evaluation journey has not only informed A4J’s internal practices but has also provided valuable insights on how funders and donors can better support grassroots leaders and communities most affected by mass incarceration. By sharing these learnings, we aim to strengthen our collective efforts toward a more just and equitable society.
Forging Connections Between Artists & Advocates: Grantee Survey and Network Analysis

The Fund and Engage R +D sought to understand how grantees built and strengthened their relationships with one another through a grantee survey and social network analysis. This report synthesizes findings that show how relationships have formed among grantees and served to integrate art and advocacy work to end mass incarceration. It also includes grantee perspectives on how A4J has supported progress in narrative change and criminal justice policy.
* Link ([link removed]) to report

Ohio artist and advocate Tyra Patterson dances with A4J board member Sonia Lopez. Photo by Erin Baiano.
What Movements Need to Advance Social Change: Case Study Series
The Fund and Engage R+D document A4J’s impact and share lessons with the field through a series of case studies focused on where A4J supported movement-related change efforts across distinctive socio-political landscapes. The series is based on lessons learned from A4J grantees and partners across three states—Ohio, Illinois, and New York. The series also presents insights and recommendations from directly impacted artists including takeaway lessons for funders and others involved in the movement to end mass incarceration.
* Case Study Overview ([link removed])
* Embracing Art in the Movement: Lessons from Ohio ([link removed])
* Centering Directly Impacted People: Lessons from Illinois ([link removed])
* Practicing Movement Allyship: Lessons from New York ([link removed])
* Supporting Directly Impacted Artists: Recommendations for Funders ([link removed])

Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth’s new Michigan Coordinator, Jose Burgos. Photo by Erin Baiano.

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** BRINGING JUSTICE TO MICHIGAN: JOSE BURGOS AND JULIE MEHRETU
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Many of us had the chance to meet Jose Burgos during A4J’s final event at the end of June. In 1992, he was sentenced at 16 years old to die in prison for a bungled drug exchange in Detroit that resulted in the shooting death of another young man. The judge did not have the discretion to consider Burgos’ circumstances — the fact that he had never shot a gun before the night he tried to pass off a bunch of old rags as a bag of marijuana, or the self-destructive ways he was processing the grief of losing his mother to a bottle full of heart medication.

Burgos served 27 years before two important cases were brought before the Supreme Court – one ruling deemed that juveniles could not automatically be sentenced to life without parole because children are different than adults. The other allowed those serving JLWOP to “get a second look” – an opportunity for a resentencing hearing.

Today, more than half of states have entirely banned the sentencing of children to life without parole. But Michigan is not one of them. There are still 294 people incarcerated there for crimes they committed when they were younger than 18.
At A4J’s event, Artist Julie Mehretu listened intently to stories from members of the Incarcerated Children’s Network who’d been incarcerated as young as 12 and 13. She heard how these individuals are finally free and living productive lives. And some, like Jose, are leading advocacy efforts to end the practice of juvenile life without parole sentences for others.

Once again, Julie felt deeply moved to end the scourge of mass incarceration. In 2021, her painting, “Dissident Score,” raised $6.5 M for A4J’s grantmaking. Now, this East Lansing native is supporting grantee, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and its new Michigan Coordinator, Jose Burgos, to bring change to their home state. Gratitude!

Artist and donor Julie Mehretu with A4J’s board member Catherine Gund. Photo by Erin Baiano.

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** ANNOUNCING A4J’S ARCHIVAL WEBSITE
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Art for Justice is pleased to announce the mid-December launch of its “archival” website. It will fully replace the content that appears on the current site while using the existing URL: [link removed] The redesigned site will provide a digital record of work undertaken by grantee partners and the Fund, including case studies, an impact report detailing key metrics & policy wins, and lessons learned from the Fund’s six years of grantmaking. The site is expected to last into perpetuity, though some information and contacts will inevitably become outdated.

The site will include a timeline of important milestones in the movement to end mass incarceration; a resource library of toolkits, reports and interactive content; and guidance for individuals, organizations and funders looking to take action in the fight to transform the criminal legal system.

A4J is excited to have the capacity to share a comprehensive grantee database on the new site, which we hope aids in creating connectivity and raising the visibility of partner artists, advocates, and organizations who are leading the movement. The site was especially designed to showcase the powerful work of grantee artists. It illustrates their role in challenging and shifting narratives about mass incarceration, bearing witness to experiences of those impacted by the criminal legal system, and inspiring new pathways to shared safety for all.

Please look for an announcement that the site is “live” in the weeks ahead.

A4J’s forthcoming archival website. Detail from "No Kids In Prison" Exhibition at Cherry St Pier, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Mark Strandquist, courtesy of Performing Statistics.
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** COME CELEBRATE SILVER ART PROJECTS
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On November 28^th, grantee partner, Silver Art Projects, will hold its first annual fundraising gala. The organization supports the premier residency program for visual artists in New York City. Founded in 2019, Silver Art has hosted nearly 100 artists in a year-long studio experience that helps them to realize their creative and professional careers. Free space is provided on the 28^th floor of 4 World Trade Center thanks to the generosity of Silverstein Properties. These large, light and well-resourced studios are an inspiring place to make visionary work.

Moreover, Silver Art Project’s social justice mission helps to level the “art world playing field” by supporting those whose voices have been marginalized by forces in contemporary society, including formerly incarcerated artists. This year, A4J grantee partners, Jared Owens, Russell Craig, Mary Elizabeth Enoch Baxter, and Jesse Krimes are participants. They are among the twenty-eight artists, who, in addition to use of studio space, engage in community building and receive professional development opportunities, a stipend and connections with museum directors, curators, gallerists, collectors, and artist mentors to encourage growth and opportunity.

Art for Justice is grateful to Silver Art Project’s board members, executive director, Gregory Thornbury, and Artist Liaison, Jared Owens, for choosing to honor the Fund and its founder, Agnes Gund, at the gala. A4J’s board, staff and grantees will be in attendance to celebrate Silver Art Project’s important work. Our team is excited that grantee partner, Hank Willis Thomas, will also be honored for his support of Silver Art Project. Proceeds from the gala will underwrite future artists' experiences in the residency program. Patrons who become residency sponsors will have a studio at 4 World Trade Center named after them and can engage with the trajectory of Silver Art residents over the course of a year.

For more information and to purchase event tickets, please go to: www.silverart.org ([link removed])

Silver Art Projects’ residency participants from 2022 and 2023. Photo courtesy of Silver Art Projects.

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