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** Please check out A4J’s Website and Resources
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Art for Justice Fund (A4J) is announcing the launch of its archival website, available at [link removed]. The new site provides a digital record of work undertaken by grantee partners and the Fund, including case studies, an impact report detailing key metrics and policy wins, and lessons learned from the Fund’s six years of grantmaking.
Designed as a time-limited, spend-down initiative, A4J ran from June 2017 to June 2023 and sought to bring artists and advocates together to end mass incarceration. The website includes 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 share a comprehensive grantee database on the site, with the hope of spurring 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 and illustrate their role in challenging and shifting narratives about mass incarceration, bearing witness to the experiences of those impacted by the criminal legal system, and inspiring new pathways to shared safety for all.
Inaugurated under the unprecedented philanthropic vision of Agnes Gund, A4J launched with $100M generated from the sale of Gund’s favorite painting, Roy Lichtenstein's Masterpiece (1962). This spurred artists, collectors, and supporters to donate an additional $27M in support of the Fund’s mission to advance policy reform, shift public narratives, and promote the leadership of formerly incarcerated people while centering art as a catalyst to transform the criminal legal system.
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A4J IMPACTS
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With the institutional support of the Ford Foundation and the management of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, A4J has allocated more than $127 million, across over 450 grants to 212 grantees working to reduce the number of people incarcerated in this country and to build a future where shared safety is available to all.
Some key impact findings on the website include:
* 53 percent of artists funded by A4J were formerly incarcerated, and 44 percent of grant dollars were allocated to justice-system-impacted individuals/organizations.
* A4J raised over $27M through 300-plus donations from individuals, businesses, and artists. Thirty-three donors gave more than $100,000, including Julie Mehretu (who donated $6.5M through the sale of her work Dissident Score), MacKenzie Scott, Walton Family Foundation, Mark Bradford and Madeleine Rudin.
* More than twenty artists, galleries, and collectors contributed art proceeds and/or labor associated with turning “art into justice” via new grantmaking dollars.
* Grantees reported nearly tripling cross-sectoral collaborations between artists and advocates since receiving support from A4J.
* Thirty-three states and Washington D.C. have banned life without parole sentences for children. Nine of these victories were secured with A4J support in the past six years.
* Grantee partner Worth Rises, in collaboration with other advocacy groups, secured milestone wins in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and several cities, allowing incarcerated individuals free phone calls to their families and loved ones.
* In 2023, Los Angeles—which has the country’s largest jail system and the most profitable bail industry—struck down its bail system. The ruling deemed the LA County bail schedule unconstitutional and set bail at $0 for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. A4J grantees Civil Rights Corps, Essie Justice Group, Vera Institute of Justice, and Zealous—along with other advocacy groups—ensured this win.
The incredible trove of impact data, personal stories, milestones, and more, that the A4J website holds, will contribute to the lasting A4J legacy and will provide a resource for those who continue to push the movement forward.
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