The Art for Justice Fund, the initiative founded by activist philanthropist Agnes Gund in 2017, today announced the launch of a new organization, the Center for Art & Advocacy. The new entity, made possible by a transformative grant from Art for Justice and additional funding from the Mellon Foundation, will be led by formerly incarcerated artist Jesse Krimes. The Center for Art & Advocacy is tasked with supporting previously imprisoned artists, picking up where the Art for Justice Fund leaves off when the latter ceases operations as scheduled later this year. The new center will open exhibition space in Brooklyn this fall.
“The launch of the Center for Art & Advocacy marks a pivotal moment in the fight to end mass incarceration,” Gund said in a statement. “[We are] delighted to support our partner’s evolution into a physical center with expanded programming, all dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system through the arts.
The initiative revolves around three main projects. The first of these is the Right of Return Fellowship, which Krimes and formerly incarcerated artist Russell Craig launched in 2017. The fellowship is the first national program of its kind aimed at helping people in creative professions that have been affected by justice. system. The second main project is an academy, which will provide non-monetary support to formerly incarcerated and emerging or developing writers, filmmakers and artists. Finally, there is a residence, which will be located in northeastern Pennsylvania. Launching in 2024, this initiative will provide short and long-term stays for program alumni and recognized social justice advocates from across the country.
Gund in 2017 sold a $165 million Roy Lichtenstein painting that hung over his fireplace and used the proceeds to establish the Art for Justice Fund with the goal of reducing mass incarceration in the United States and reshaping the criminal justice system through art. Since then, it has doled out millions of dollars, variously focusing on organizations and artists whose work aims to help women and children, keep people out of jail and jail, shorten excessive prison sentences, improve community reintegration and change the narratives about criminals. justice. “It’s something I can do before I die,” Gund said. The philanthropist, who has six African-American grandchildren, was motivated in part to launch the initiative by a number of police shootings of unarmed African-American teenagers. Art for Justice was originally planned as a six-year initiative.
“I first envisioned building a community of formerly incarcerated artists while isolated in a jail cell,” Krimes said in a statement. “In a nation with two million people behind bars, it is abundantly clear how many talented artists are criminalized, incarcerated and denied creative opportunities. I am deeply grateful to the Art for Justice Fund and Agnes Gund for believing in the power of an artist-led movement and I am honored to advance their legacy with the center’s work.
